Methods for amplifying polymeric nucleic acids

Abstract

The invention provides compositions and methods for amplifying nucleic acid polymer sequences in a high complexity nucleic acid sample. The unique compositions of the invention include a primer set composed of a mixture of two types of primers for DNA synthesis. For extension in one direction, the primers all contain modifications that destroy their ability to serve as templates that can be copied by DNA polymerases. For extension in the opposite direction the set includes at least one primer that can serve as a template and be replicated by DNA polymerases throughout its length. The method can be carried out by mixing the nucleic acid polymer sequence of interest with the set of DNA synthesis primers in an amplification reaction mixture. The reaction mixture is then subjected to temperature cycling analogous to the temperature cycling in PCR reactions. At least one primer in the primer set hybridizes to the nucleic acid polymer. It is preferred that the non-replicable primer hybridizes to the nucleic acid polymer and is extended to produce an extension product that contains sequence from the nucleic acid polymer to which the replicable primer then hybridizes. Of course, if the nucleic acid polymer is double stranded, both the replicable and nonreplicable primers will hybridize and be extended by DNA polymerase.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.