Your thermocycler is broken, and can only reach a temperature of 72 degrees Celsius maximum. What effect will this have on your PRC? Will you still get DNA replicated? Explain

If your thermocycler is only capable of reaching a maximum temperature of 72 degrees Celsius, it will likely have a significant effect on your PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) process.

PCR involves a series of temperature cycles to amplify specific regions of DNA. These cycles typically consist of three main steps: denaturation, annealing, and extension. Denaturation involves heating the DNA sample to separate the double-stranded DNA into single strands. Annealing is when primers bind to the target DNA sequence, and extension occurs when DNA polymerase adds complementary nucleotides to each strand, synthesizing new DNA.

During the denaturation step, it is common to raise the temperature to around 95 degrees Celsius. With a maximum temperature of 72 degrees Celsius, your thermocycler may not be able to achieve the necessary denaturation temperature. Consequently, the DNA may not fully denature, which would hinder the PCR process. Insufficient denaturation would prevent the primers from properly binding to their target sequences during the annealing step, thereby preventing DNA replication.

Therefore, if your thermocycler can only reach a maximum temperature of 72 degrees Celsius, it is highly likely that you will encounter difficulties in replicating DNA using PCR. I would recommend either repairing the thermocycler to ensure it can reach the required temperatures or using an alternative device capable of meeting the necessary temperature requirements for successful PCR.