Amplicons
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Amplicons are pieces of DNA formed as the products of natural or artificial amplification events. For example, they can be formed via polymerase chain reactions (PCR) or ligase chain reactions (LCR), as well as by natural gene duplication.
A method for determining gender from a human DNA sample. The loci of Alu element insertion is selected, amplified and evaluated in terms of size of the fragment. The gender assay utilizes AluSTXa for the X chromosome, AluSTYa for the Y chromosome, or both AluSTXa and AluSTYa, to reduce the possibility of error to a negligible quantity. The inserted chromosome yields a large fragment when the homologous region is amplified. The males are distinguished as having two DNA amplicons present, while females have only a single amplicon. The kit adapted for carrying out the method includes a pair of primers to amplify the locus and optionally polymerase chain reaction regents.