Class NEET 2026 ALL Q #2080
KNOWLEDGE BASED
APPLY
4 Marks 2026 NTA-RE-NEET-2026 MCQ SINGLE
During PCR, primers bind to the DNA strands in the ______ step.
(A) ligation
(B) denaturation
(C) extension
(D) annealing
Correct Answer: D

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Detailed Solution

Step 1: Understanding PCR Steps

Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) consists of three primary steps performed in a thermal cycler: Denaturation, Annealing, and Extension.

Step 2: Analyzing the Annealing Phase

During the annealing step, the temperature is lowered (typically to 50-65°C), which allows the short synthetic oligonucleotide primers to form hydrogen bonds with their complementary sequences on the single-stranded DNA templates.

Step 3: Evaluating Options

Denaturation involves separating DNA strands at high heat. Extension involves the DNA polymerase adding nucleotides. Ligation is a separate process in recombinant DNA technology, not a step of PCR. Therefore, primer binding occurs exclusively during annealing.

Final Answer: annealing

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Pedagogical Audit
Bloom's Analysis: This is an APPLY question because it requires the student to map a specific biological function (primer binding) to the correct phase of a known laboratory procedure (PCR).
Knowledge Dimension: FACTUAL
Justification: The question tests the recall of specific terminology and procedural definitions defined in the NCERT Biology curriculum regarding Biotechnology.
Syllabus Audit: In the context of NEET, this is classified as KNOWLEDGE. This question is a standard direct-recall item frequently appearing in the Biotechnology unit of the NEET syllabus.

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