Random variation and concentration effects in PCR
Journal article, 2003

Even though the efficiency of the PCR reaction decreases, analyses are made in terms of Galton-Watson processes, or simple deterministic models with constant replication probability (efficiency).Recently Schnell and Mendoza have suggested that the form of the efficiency can be derived from enzyme kinetics. This results in the sequence of molecules numbers forming a stochastic process with the properties of a branching process with population size dependence, which is supercritical, but has a mean reproductionnumber that approaches one. Such processes display ultimate linear growth, after an initial exponential phase, as is the case in PCR. It is also shown that the resulting stochastic process for a large Michaelis Menten constant behaves like the deterministic sequence x_n arising by iterations of the function f(x) = x+x/(1+x).

PCR

varying environment

branching process

Michaelis-Menten

Author

Peter Jagers

Chalmers, Department of Mathematical Statistics

University of Gothenburg

Peter Jagers

Monash University

Journal of Theoretical Biology

0022-5193 (ISSN) 1095-8541 (eISSN)

Vol. 224 3 299-304

Subject Categories

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Probability Theory and Statistics

DOI

10.1016/S0022-5193(03)00166-8

More information

Latest update

2/26/2018