A primer binding site is a region

Region

Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...

 of a nucleotide

Nucleotide

Nucleotides are molecules that, when joined together, make up the structural units of RNA and DNA. In addition, nucleotides participate in cellular signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions...

 sequence

Sequence

In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects . Like a set, it contains members , and the number of terms is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set, order matters, and exactly the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in the sequence...

 where an RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 or 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...

 single-stranded primer

Primer (molecular biology)

A primer is a strand of nucleic acid that serves as a starting point for DNA synthesis. They are required for DNA replication because the enzymes that catalyze this process, DNA polymerases, can only add new nucleotides to an existing strand of DNA...

 binds to start

Start

Start can refer to multiple topics:* Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air* Start date, in filmmaking* Start, Louisiana, a town in the United States...

 replication

Replication

Replication may refer to:Science* Replication is one of the main principles of the scientific method, a.k.a. reproducibility** Replication , the repetition of a test or complete experiment...

. The primer binding site is on one of the two complementary strands of a double-stranded nucleotide

Nucleotide

Nucleotides are molecules that, when joined together, make up the structural units of RNA and DNA. In addition, nucleotides participate in cellular signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions...

 polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

, in the strand which is to be copied, or is within a single-stranded nucleotide polymer sequence.

A PCR primer binding site is a site where a polymerase chain reaction

Polymerase chain reaction

The polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....

 (PCR) primer

Primer

Primer may refer to:*Primer , a 1995 music album by the musical group Rockapella*Primer *Primer , a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth...

 binds, to prime duplication of a complement to an existing 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...

 or RNA

RNA

Ribonucleic acid , or RNA, is one of the three major macromolecules that are essential for all known forms of life....

 sequence.

The HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 primer binding site is a structured RNA element

Cis-regulatory element

A cis-regulatory element or cis-element is a region of DNA or RNA that regulates the expression of genes located on that same molecule of DNA . This term is constructed from the Latin word cis, which means "on the same side as". These cis-regulatory elements are often binding sites for one or...

 in the genomes of retrovirus

Retrovirus

A retrovirus is an RNA virus that is duplicated in a host cell using the reverse transcriptase enzyme to produce DNA from its RNA genome. The DNA is then incorporated into the host's genome by an integrase enzyme. The virus thereafter replicates as part of the host cell's DNA...

es to which tRNA binds to initiate reverse transcription. In HIV, the tRNA is tRNA(3)(Lys) although it can use other tRNAs. It consists of 18 nucleotide

Nucleotide

Nucleotides are molecules that, when joined together, make up the structural units of RNA and DNA. In addition, nucleotides participate in cellular signaling , and are incorporated into important cofactors of enzymatic reactions...

s and follows the U5 region of the 5'-long terminal repeat

Long terminal repeat

Long terminal repeats are sequences of DNA that repeat hundreds or thousands of times. They are found in retroviral DNA and in retrotransposons, flanking functional genes...

(LTR) of the retrovirus.