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RT-PCR · Pathology

What is the role of 'RNase H' in the cDNA synthesis process?

  1. It synthesizes the second strand of DNA
  2. It degrades the RNA strand within an RNA-DNA hybrid
  3. It prevents the degradation of the cDNA product
  4. It initiates the denaturation of the RNA secondary structure
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Correct answer: It degrades the RNA strand within an RNA-DNA hybrid

After the first cDNA strand is synthesized, RNase H activity (often built into the reverse transcriptase enzyme) degrades the original RNA template. This facilitates the subsequent synthesis of the second DNA strand or allows primers to bind for PCR.

Difficulty: Medium Question 8 of 20

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