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Short-Amplicon Strategy

Definition

A PCR design that targets the shortest possible fragment length: often 80-150 bp: within a diagnostic locus such as COI. Shorter targets are more likely to be intact in degraded templates.

Related terms

Collagen Peptide Barcoding
Species identification from trypsin-digested collagen analysed by mass spectrometry. Peptide sequences differ between species at diagnostic positions that survive tanning and heat...
DNA Fragmentation
Physical breakage of the DNA backbone into short pieces. In degraded samples the average fragment length may be 50-200 bp, making long...
Library Preparation (aDNA)
Enzymatic end-repair, adapter ligation, and amplification of all DNA fragments in a sample regardless of length, used in ancient-DNA and degraded-sample workflows....
Metagenomics
The direct sequencing of all DNA extracted from an environmental sample, bypassing the need to culture individual organisms. It produces a community-wide...
PCR Inhibitor
A co-extracted substance that interferes with Taq polymerase activity or primer annealing. Common inhibitors in forensic samples include haemoglobin (from blood on...

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