A master mix is a mixture containing precursors and enzymes used as an ingredient in

RT-PCR Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA (in this context called complementary DNA or cDNA) and amplification of specific DNA targets using polymerase ch ...

techniques in molecular biology. Such mixtures contain a mixture

dNTP A nucleoside triphosphate is a nucleoside containing a nitrogenous base bound to a 5-carbon sugar (either ribose or deoxyribose), with three phosphate groups bound to the sugar. They are the molecular precursors of both DNA and RNA, which are ...

s (required as a substrate for the building of new DNA strands), MgCl₂,

Taq polymerase ''Taq'' polymerase is a thermostable DNA polymerase I named after the thermophilic eubacterial microorganism '' Thermus aquaticus,'' from which it was originally isolated by Chien et al. in 1976. Its name is often abbreviated to ''Taq'' or '' ...

(an enzyme required to building new DNA strands), a

pH buffer A buffer solution (more precisely, pH buffer or hydrogen ion buffer) is an aqueous solution consisting of a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base, or vice versa. Its pH changes very little when a small amount of strong acid or base is ...

and come mixed in nuclease-free water. Master mixes for

real-time PCR A real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR, or qPCR) is a laboratory technique of molecular biology based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It monitors the amplification of a targeted DNA molecule during the PCR (i.e., in real ...

include a fluorescent compound (frequently

SYBR green SYBR Green I (SG) is an asymmetrical cyanine dye used as a nucleic acid stain in molecular biology. The SYBR family of dyes is produced by Molecular Probes Inc., now owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific. SYBR Green I binds to DNA. The resulting ...

), and the choice of mix also influence test sensitivity and consistency. Differences in the choice of master mixes can sometimes explain difference in experimental results, a particular case being the measurement of

telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mos ...

length.

References

DNA sequencing {{Molecular-biology-stub