Question

Explain the significance of the term "Taq" in genetics

Answer 1

Taq polymerase is a thermostable DNA polymerase I with its name derived from Thermus aquaticus, a thermophilic bacterium. It plays a role in the amplification of the short segments of DNA while being capable of functioning at very high temperatures. It is largely employed in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based assays in order to amplify the amounts of short segments of DNA.

It has a huge significance in genetics based on the following examples:

1. In Diagnostics :- The Taq polymerase provided in PCR DNA replication has been improved to have higher specificity, fewer nonspecific products, and simpler processes so it has been used widely employed to detect the presence of genetic disease mutations and multiple other defects in the genome. Even for detecting the covid-19 virus presently, Taq in PCR-based tests has proved its reliance in good degree of accuracy.

2. In cloning and transgenics - Preparing transgenic organisms and specific gene mutants has acted vital in most of the genetic assays.

3. Genotyping :- It has several applications ranging from parental testing to the genetic fingerprinting, especially in forensics.