Steps of PCR

1. Denaturation: DNA sample is heated to high temperature (94-98°C), causing the double-stranded DNA to separate into single strands. 2. Annealing: Temperature is lowered (typically 50-65°C), allowing short DNA primers to bind to specific target sequences on each single strand. 3. Extension: Temperature is raised (72°C), and DNA polymerase synthesizes complementary strands by adding nucleotides to the primers, creating new DNA segments. 4. Repeat: The cycle is repeated multiple times (20-40 cycles), exponentially amplifying the target DNA region.