Single-base extension
Okay, imagine you have a very long word puzzle with a lot of letters that you need to solve. Each letter represents a DNA base. DNA is like a recipe book for living things that tells them how to grow and survive. It has a lot of different letters (bases) that make up its code, and each letter has a different meaning.
Let's say you only need to solve one part of the puzzle, but you're not sure what letter (base) goes in that spot. So, you decide to do a single-base extension, which is basically like adding one more letter (base) to the correct spot on the puzzle to figure out what letter should go there.
To do this, you need a few things:
1. A special tool called a "DNA primer," which looks kind of like a stick with one end that matches the DNA code right before the spot where you want to add a letter. It helps to guide the process.
2. A "template" strand of DNA, which is the part of the puzzle you've already solved. It's like a cheat sheet that tells you what the correct letters are so you can match them up.
3. A bunch of different "nucleotides," which are like different colored markers that represent the different bases (letters) you could potentially add to the puzzle.
4. A special enzyme (kind of like scissors) that helps you chop up the nucleotides.
Now, when you're ready to do the single-base extension, you take your DNA primer and attach it to the end of the template strand at the exact spot where you want to add a letter (base). Then, you add a few more ingredients to the mix.
First, you add one type of nucleotide (marker) that represents the letter (base) you want to add to the puzzle. This is where the enzyme comes in - it helps add the nucleotide to the right spot on the puzzle.
Then, you add a few more ingredients to help "wash" away any extra nucleotides that didn't get added to the puzzle. This helps make sure you have a clean and accurate result.
After that, you check to see if the single letter (base) was added to the puzzle in the right spot. If it was, great! You know what letter (base) should be in that spot. If not, you might need to try adding a different nucleotide (marker) to see if that works better.
Overall, a single-base extension is a way to add one letter (base) to a DNA code (puzzle) to figure out what letter should go in a particular spot. It's like a detective tool that helps scientists solve mysteries about how DNA works.
Let's say you only need to solve one part of the puzzle, but you're not sure what letter (base) goes in that spot. So, you decide to do a single-base extension, which is basically like adding one more letter (base) to the correct spot on the puzzle to figure out what letter should go there.
To do this, you need a few things:
1. A special tool called a "DNA primer," which looks kind of like a stick with one end that matches the DNA code right before the spot where you want to add a letter. It helps to guide the process.
2. A "template" strand of DNA, which is the part of the puzzle you've already solved. It's like a cheat sheet that tells you what the correct letters are so you can match them up.
3. A bunch of different "nucleotides," which are like different colored markers that represent the different bases (letters) you could potentially add to the puzzle.
4. A special enzyme (kind of like scissors) that helps you chop up the nucleotides.
Now, when you're ready to do the single-base extension, you take your DNA primer and attach it to the end of the template strand at the exact spot where you want to add a letter (base). Then, you add a few more ingredients to the mix.
First, you add one type of nucleotide (marker) that represents the letter (base) you want to add to the puzzle. This is where the enzyme comes in - it helps add the nucleotide to the right spot on the puzzle.
Then, you add a few more ingredients to help "wash" away any extra nucleotides that didn't get added to the puzzle. This helps make sure you have a clean and accurate result.
After that, you check to see if the single letter (base) was added to the puzzle in the right spot. If it was, great! You know what letter (base) should be in that spot. If not, you might need to try adding a different nucleotide (marker) to see if that works better.
Overall, a single-base extension is a way to add one letter (base) to a DNA code (puzzle) to figure out what letter should go in a particular spot. It's like a detective tool that helps scientists solve mysteries about how DNA works.