For the remaining questions (#8 - 10), we are NOT focused on the Wolbachia project. Instead, you need to apply what you know about PCR and gel electrophoresis to a new hypothetical medical scenario. In this hypothetical scenario, you need to determine if a human patient has an HIV infection. You can easily extract enough DNA from cells collected from a cheek swab of a patient to perform a PCR screen for HIV infection.

Question

For the remaining questions (#8 - 10), we are NOT focused on the Wolbachia project.  Instead, you need to apply what you know about PCR and gel electrophoresis to a new hypothetical medical scenario.  In this hypothetical scenario, you need to determine if a human patient has an HIV infection.  You can easily extract enough DNA from cells collected from a cheek swab of a patient to perform a PCR screen for HIV infection.

Question 8 (2 points)
 
The template for the positive control should contain which DNA(s)?

Question 8 options:
Question 9 (2 points)
 
The template for the negative control should contain which DNA(s)?

Question 9 options:
Question 10 (2 points)
 
The template for the NTC should contain which DNA(s)?

Question 10 options:

GPT-4o mini · Accepted Answer

In the context of using PCR to detect HIV infection from a cheek swab sample, here are the answers to the specified questions about positive controls, negative controls, and no-template controls (NTC).

Question 8

The template for the positive control should contain which DNA(s)?

Answer: The template for the positive control should contain HIV DNA or RNA. This allows you to verify that the PCR reagents are functioning properly and that the assay can successfully amplify HIV genetic material if it is present.

Question 9

The template for the negative control should contain which DNA(s)?

Answer: The template for the negative control should contain human genomic DNA (from a non-infected individual) or no DNA at all. This control is used to confirm that there is no background amplification of non-HIV sequences and to ensure that any PCR products generated in the experimental samples are due to HIV.

Question 10

The template for the NTC should contain which DNA(s)?

Answer: The template for the no-template control (NTC) should contain no DNA or RNA at all. This control is crucial for checking for contamination in the PCR reagents. If any amplification occurs in the NTC, it indicates that there may be contaminants present that could lead to false-positive results.

These controls are vital to ensuring the validity and reliability of the PCR test results in detecting HIV infection.