The influence of DNA templates composition on nonspecific (ab initio) DNA synthesis
Detection of specific nucleic acids (NA) is the basis of modern methods for DNA and RNA analysis, which is carried out during amplification reactions followed by detection of amplification results. Despite the huge number of NA amplification techniques has been developed, the demand for high reliability is still relevant. This article is related to the specificity of the DNA synthesis reaction. Previously, nonspecific amplification was shown for various DNA polymerases even in the absence of templates and primers. In this study, the propensity of strand-displacement DNA polymerases to provide efficient ab initio DNA synthesis is shown. This property is most intrinsic for thermostable polymerases, which is probably due to the higher efficiency of formation of DNA heteroduplexes suitable for elongation during thermal cycling. Ab initio DNA synthesis proceeds at the highest rate in the presence of double-stranded DNA, oligo-dT18, or templates consisting of nucleotide repeats.