Polony
Encyclopedia
Polony is a contraction of "polymerase colony," a small colony of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

.

Polonies are discrete clonal amplifications of a single DNA molecule, grown in a gel matrix. This approach greatly improves the signal-to-noise ratio. Polonies can be generated using several techniques that include solid-phase PCR in polyacrylamide gels. However, other earlier patented technologies, such as that from Manteia (acquired by Solexa), which generate DNA on a solid phase surface by bridge amplification - are generally referred to as "Clusters".

The terminology and distinction between 'polony' and 'cluster' have become confused recently. Growth of clonal copies of DNA on bead surfaces remains to be generically named although some also seek to name this technique as a "polony" method. The concept of localizing and analyzing regions containing clonal nucleic acid populations was first described in patents by Brown, et al.. (assigned to Genomic Nanosystems), however these are in liquid phase. Clusters are distinct in that they are based on solid-phase amplification of single DNA molecules where the DNA has been covalently attached to a surface (e.g. Turcatti et al. assigned to Solexa Ltd).

In one conceptually simple way to create polonies, a solution containing DNA fragments is poured onto a microscope slide dilute enough so that individual molecules are separated. DNA polymerase
DNA polymerase
A DNA polymerase is an enzyme that helps catalyze in the polymerization of deoxyribonucleotides into a DNA strand. DNA polymerases are best known for their feedback role in DNA replication, in which the polymerase "reads" an intact DNA strand as a template and uses it to synthesize the new strand....

 is added, which copies each fragment repeatedly, creating millions of polonies, each of which contains only copies of the original fragment of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

. These "polonies" are then used for various kinds of DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...

 research like DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing
DNA sequencing includes several methods and technologies that are used for determining the order of the nucleotide bases—adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine—in a molecule of DNA....

, although this method is not used in any currently commercially available sequencer.
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