Which option describes a characteristic of standard PCR steps listed in the material?

Which option describes a characteristic of standard PCR steps listed in the material?

• A. Fluorescently labeled probe and 1 set of primers
• B. Nucleotide extraction, PCR amplification, pathogen detection
• C. Antibody testing
• D. Pathogen growth in culture

Answer: (B)

Standard PCR follows a simple workflow: first, you isolate the organism’s nucleic acids from the sample to serve as the template. Then you use primers and a DNA polymerase to amplify the target region through repeated cycles. Finally, you detect the amplified product to determine if the pathogen’s genetic material is present. This sequence—nucleic acid extraction, amplification, and detection—is how PCR is typically used to confirm a pathogen. The other approaches describe different diagnostic methods: using a fluorescent probe is characteristic of probe-based real-time PCR, which is a variation of the method; antibody testing measures immune response rather than the organism’s DNA; growing the pathogen in culture is a culture-based approach, not PCR.

Standard PCR follows a simple workflow: first, you isolate the organism’s nucleic acids from the sample to serve as the template. Then you use primers and a DNA polymerase to amplify the target region through repeated cycles. Finally, you detect the amplified product to determine if the pathogen’s genetic material is present. This sequence—nucleic acid extraction, amplification, and detection—is how PCR is typically used to confirm a pathogen.

The other approaches describe different diagnostic methods: using a fluorescent probe is characteristic of probe-based real-time PCR, which is a variation of the method; antibody testing measures immune response rather than the organism’s DNA; growing the pathogen in culture is a culture-based approach, not PCR.