A localized PCR inhibitor in a porcelain crab suggests a protective role.

ABSTRACT: A number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inhibitors have been identified from biological and environmental samples. By and large, such substances are treated as random nuisances and contaminants with alternate functions; their inhibitory effects on DNA replication being a coincidental property of their molecular structure. Here, we demonstrate the presence of a localized PCR inhibitor in the foregut of the porcelain crab Petrolisthes rufescens (Anomura: Porcellanidae) from the Red Sea. The inhibitor precluded amplification of 28s, 16s and 18s gene sequences effectively but lost activity at 10(-2) dilutions from initial concentration. Heat treatment was ineffective in arresting inhibition and spectrophotometric techniques suggested that the inhibitor was not a melanin-type compound. The

SUBMITTER: El-Maklizi MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4260131 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature