During the amplification of a gene of interest using PCR, a researcher sets the thermocycler for 5 continuous cycles. Assuming perfect efficiency, how many copies of the target DNA will be produced from a single double-stranded template molecule?

Step-by-step solution

In Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), the amount of DNA doubles after each cycle. The number of DNA copies produced after n cycles is given by the formula 2^n N₀ , where N₀ is the initial number of DNA molecules. Given n = 5 and N₀ = 1 . Number of copies = 2^5 1 = 32 . Answer: 32