Instrument: PCR Thermal Cycler

Dataset: 
Instrument: 
Instrument Short Name: Thermal Cycler
Instrument Description:

A thermal cycler or "thermocycler" is a general term for a type of laboratory apparatus, commonly used for performing polymerase chain reaction (PCR), that is capable of repeatedly altering and maintaining specific temperatures for defined periods of time. The device has a thermal block with holes where tubes with the PCR reaction mixtures can be inserted. The cycler then raises and lowers the temperature of the block in discrete, pre-programmed steps. They can also be used to facilitate other temperature-sensitive reactions, including restriction enzyme digestion or rapid diagnostics.

(adapted from http://serc.carleton.edu/microbelife/research_methods/genomics/pcr.html)

PI supplied instrument name: FastDNA® Spin Kit for Soil
Dataset-specific description

Genomic DNA was extracted from Baltic Sea Basin sediments using FastDNA® Spin Kit for Soil
(MP Biomedicals). 16S rRNA gene copy numbers of targets were quantified with qPCR using the
primers in the table in datasheet. Results of qPCR were rejected if the R2 of the standard curve was
below 0.95, or if the melt curve showed evidence of primer dimers. SYBR green chemistry was used
for all reactions, and Invitrogen mastermix was used for DNA copy number measurement on a
BioRad iQ5 (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, California). Serial dilutions of full-length 16S rRNA
gene PCR products from plasmids containing amplified partial 16S genes were used as standards.

FastDNA® Spin Kit for Soil