Cycle Sequencing of PCR Products

The development of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has allowed the rapid isolation of DNA sequences utilizing the hybridization of two oligonucleotide primers and subsequent amplification of the intervening sequences by Taq polymerase. This technique has facilitated the identification and typing of single-nucleotide substitutions in the analysis of DNA sequence polymorphisms and the screening of large numbers of samples to either detect known mutations or search for unknown mutations at a defined locus (1 –4 ).