Research Article

Making Taq DNA polymerase in the undergraduate

biology laboratory

Philip Ferralli, John Duick Egan, and Floyd Lester Erickson

Department of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD 21801

Abstract. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an important technique for biology students to learn.
PCR utilizes DNA polymerases isolated from archaea or bacteria, like Thermus aquaticus (Taq), to
amplify target DNA sequences. In this paper we describe lab activities where students clone the gene
for, express, and purify Taq DNA polymerase and assay for its activity. These lab activities employ
plasmids containing multiple components of the lac operon thereby giving students practical experi-
ence with a genetic regulatory system they learn about in the classroom. Taq DNA polymerase puri-
fication simply involves cell lysis, a heat incubation step, and centrifugation, with the resulting su-
pernatant containing highly pure and active Taq DNA polymerase

Introduction otides. Multiple PCR cycles result in the expo-

nential amplification of the nucleotide sequence

P
CR was invented by Kary Mullis of the
Cetus Corporation in 1983 and is a pow- between the flanking primers.
erful method for the rapid amplification This original PCR technique was slow and la-
of target nucleic acid sequences (Mullis, et al., bor-intensive because fresh DNA polymerase
1986). PCR is useful in gene cloning, DNA se- had to be added after every heat denaturation
quencing, gene expression analysis, DNA fin- step. An important modification of the original
gerprinting, and the detection of infectious and PCR technique was the substitution of Taq DNA
genetic disease disorders (Lo and Chan, 2006). polymerase in place of the Klenow fragment of
The amplification process involves repeated Escherichia coli (E. coli) DNA polymerase I
cycles of heat denaturation of a DNA template (Saiki, et al., 1988). The PCR technique using
containing the target sequence, annealing of op- Taq DNA polymerase was patented by Cetus
posing primers to the complementary DNA Corporation in 1989 and the patent rights were
strands, and extension of the annealed primers later sold to the pharmaceutical company Hoff-
with DNA polymerase and free deoxynucle- mann-La Roche for $300 million. In 1989 Sci-
ence magazine named Taq DNA polymerase the
“Molecule of the Year”, and in 1993, Kary Mul-
lis was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for
Correspondence to: Floyd Lester Erickson, Department of developing PCR. Currently the market for Taq
Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
21801; phone: (410) 543–6940; fax: (410) 543–6433; e-mail: DNA polymerase is in the hundreds of millions
[email protected] of dollars per year.

69
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Copyright Beta Beta Beta Biological Society
70 BIOS

Taq DNA polymerase was first isolated in polymerase I gene (Gene Bank accession
1976 (Chien, et al., 1976) from Thermus aquati- J04639) using PCR and gene-specific DNA
cus isolated from a hot spring in Yellowstone primers designed by Engleke et al. (Table 1).
National Park (Brock and Freeze, 1969). Be- The upstream primer includes an EcoRI restric-
cause the purification of Taq DNA polymerase tion site, and the downstream primer includes a
from the native host results in low yields, the BglII restriction site. PCR is performed in a 25 µl
gene encoding this enzyme was cloned and over- volume containing 12.5 µl of 2× PCR master mix
expressed in E. coli (Lawyer, et al., 1989; En- (Promega M750B), 10 pmol each primer, and
gelke et al., 1990). 250 ng of Taq DNA. PCR is performed in a ther-
In this paper, we describe the cloning of the mocycler programmed at 94° C for 2 minutes
Taq DNA polymerase gene, recombinant protein followed by 35 cycles of 94° C for 1 minute,
expression, and purification schemes that we use 55° C for 1 minute, 72° C for 3 minutes. A por-
as laboratory activities in an undergraduate ge- tion of the PCR is analyzed by gel electrophore-
netics course. Our protocols are adapted from sis to confirm the presence of a 2500 base-pair
published methods for the rapid purification of amplicon (Figure 1A).
recombinant Taq DNA polymerase (Pluthero,
1993; Desai and Pfaffle, 1995), with modifica- Cloning of the Taq DNA polymerase gene
tions that make them more suitable for the time Students clone the Taq DNA polymerase gene
course of a typical undergraduate laboratory. sequences into either the expression plasmid
pTTQ18, which results in a functional clone for
Lab Activities gene expression, or the cloning plasmid pGEM
T-easy, which is procedurally simpler but results
Amplification of the Taq DNA polymerase gene in a clone not useful for gene expression. During
Thermus aquaticus (ATCC number 31558) the first semester these lab activities were per-
are grown (3–5 days) to saturation at 70° C in formed, students used pTTQ18, but we now have
growth media (0.1% yeast extract, 0.1% tryp- them use pGEM T-easy.
tone). Students isolate genomic DNA from 10 ml To clone the Taq DNA polymerase gene using
of culture using a genomic DNA protocol devel- pTTQ18, 16 µl of the amplicon is digested with
oped for yeast (Hoffman and Winston, 1987), 10 units each of the restriction enzymes EcoRI
followed by ethanol precipitation, resuspension and BglII in 20 µl of buffer D (Promega). One µg
in 200 µl Tris/EDTA buffer, and quantitation us- of pTTQ18 (Figure 1B) is digested for 1 hour
ing UV spectroscopy. with 10 units each of the restriction enzymes
Students use the Taq genomic DNA to am- EcoRI and BamHI (note that BglII sticky ends
plify the open-reading-frame of the Taq DNA can ligate into BamHI sticky ends) in 20 µl of

Table 1. Primers and buffers. The underlined sequences within the primers are the added restriction enzyme digestion sites.

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Taq DNA polymerase laboratory 71

Figure 1. Taq DNA polymerase amplicon and pTTQ18 plasmid map. A) Eight µl of the PCR was mixed with 2 µl of 10X loading
dye and electrophoresed through a 1% agarose gel in tris-acetate-EDTA buffer and ethidium bromide (0.1 µg/ml). The gel was
visualized using a UV light box and photographed using a digital camera. Lane 1 is DNA size standards. Lane 2 is PCR of Taq
DNA polymerase gene. B) Map of plasmid pTTQ18 used to clone and express the Taq DNA polymerase gene.

multicore buffer (Promega). The DNA diges- ligate agarose gel-purified amplicons into
tions are electrophoresed through a 1% agarose pGEM T-easy plasmid following the Promega li-
gel, and the DNA bands are visualized using gation protocol.
ethidium bromide and UV light. The amplicon The completed ligation reactions, involving
and plasmid bands are excised from the gel, the either pTTQ18 or pGEM T-easy, are used to
two gel fragments combined, and the DNA puri- transform E. coli, and colonies containing re-
fied using the QIAquick gel extraction kit combinant plasmid are identified by ampicillin
(Qiagen, Inc.) following the manufacturer’s in- resistance and blue-white screening. Five µl of
structions. Twelve µl of the purified DNA mix- ligation reaction is incubated with 50 µl chemi-
ture, 1.5 µl of ligation buffer, and 1.5 µl T4 DNA cally-competent E. coli cells (JM109) on ice for
ligase (New England Biolabs) are combined 30 minutes. The cells are heat shocked at 42° C
and the ligation reaction is incubated overnight for 50 seconds and then placed on ice for 2 min-
at 15° C. utes. Five hundred µl of LB medium is added to
The above cloning activity can be time con- the cells, followed by 30 minute incubation with
suming and the multiple steps involved often shaking at 37° C. 100 µl of cells are then plated
leads to student error. For these reasons, we have on LB agar plates containing 100 µg/ml ampicil-
found it easier if students clone the amplicon by lin. For transformations involving pGEM T-
ligating directly into the pGEM T-Easy cloning easy, 40 µl of 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-
vector (Promega Corp.) using T/A cloning. The D-galactopyranoside (X-gal; 20 mg/ml stock in
T/A cloning method is quicker than using restric- dimethyl formamide) and 40 µl of isopropyl-
tion enzymes to clone because it takes advantage beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG; 24 mg/ml
of the single, 3⬘-deoxyadenosine overhang stock in water) are also added to the plates prior
added to ends of the PCR product by the terminal to plating the bacteria. After an overnight incu-
transferase activity of Taq DNA polymerase. bation at 37° C, ampicillin-resistant colonies
This makes it possible to ligate PCR products di- containing recombinant pGEM T-easy plasmids
rectly into commercially-prepared, linearized are identified using blue/white screening. Clon-
cloning vectors, like pGEM T-Easy, that contain ing into pGEM T-Easy disrupts the lacZ gene on
single, 3⬘-deoxythymidine overhangs. Students the plasmid, resulting in cells that harbor recom-

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72 BIOS

binant plasmids appearing white on X-gal- minutes with mixing by inversion every 5 min-
containing agar plates; non-recombinant plas- utes. The resulting lysate is transferred into a
mids produce blue colonies due to the cleavage centrifuge tube and spun at 12,000 rpm for 10
of X-gal by the lacZ gene product, ␤-galactosi- minutes at 20° C in a high speed centrifuge. After
dase. centrifugation the supernatant fraction is trans-
Because pGEM T-easy plasmids are not use- ferred to a clean tube and mixed with an equal
ful for protein expression, we do not have stu- volume of storage buffer (Table 1) and stored at
dents further characterize these recombinant 4° C.
plasmids beyond counting the blue and white Students analyze 10 µl of the diluted superna-
colonies on the transformation plates. Recombi- tant fraction using SDS-polyacrylamide gel elec-
nant pTTQ18 plasmids are identified using a trophoresis. As shown in Figure 2 a single pro-
Qiagen mini-prep kit and restriction digestion tein species at the predicted size of Taq DNA
analysis to confirm the presence of the amplicon. polymerase (94 kD) is apparent (lane 2). No pro-
An E. coli strain containing a recombinant tein species are observed from an uninduced
pTTQ18/Taq DNA polymerase I plasmid has control culture where no IPTG was added (Fig-
been designated Fp251, and although the cloned ure 2, lane 1).
gene has not been sequenced to check for PCR-
induced mutations, functional Taq DNA poly- Assay for Taq DNA polymerase activity
merase is produced using this plasmid (see be- To assay for Taq DNA polymerase activity,
low). All students use this strain for expression students perform PCR using the supernatant
and purification of Taq DNA polymerase. fraction as the DNA polymerase component. For
Expression and purification of Taq
DNA polymerase
The purification of Taq DNA polymerase
from E. coli is relatively simple because of high
expression levels and the thermostable nature of
the enzyme, which allows a “heat-cut” to dena-
ture contaminating host proteins. To express Taq
DNA polymerase, the instructor grows E. coli
strain Fp251 to saturation in 5 ml of LB broth
with ampicillin (100 µg/ml) at 37° C in a shaker.
This culture is used to inoculate 200 ml of LB
broth with ampicillin in a 1 liter flask. The cul-
ture is grown at 37° C in a shaker at 225 rpm to an
A600 between 0.5 and 1.0. Gene expression from
the plasmid is induced by adding IPTG to 0.2
mM and the culture is grown for an additional
12–16 hours. At this time the culture can be
placed on ice for a few hours if needed.
In the laboratory, each student pair harvests 30
ml of cells using centrifugation at 4300 rpm for 5
minutes. The supernatant is removed and the cell Figure 2. Analysis of Taq DNA polymerase purification
pellet is resuspended with 3 ml of buffer A from E. coli using SDS-PAGE and Coomassie blue staining.
The positions and sizes (in kilodaltons) of the molecular
(Table 1) containing 4 mg/ml lysozyme, and the weight markers are indicated on the left. Ten µl of the high-
cell suspension is incubated at room temperature speed supernatant fraction was mixed with 10 µl of 2× load-
for 10 minutes to promote cell lysis. An equal ing buffer and electrophoresed through a 12% SDS-
polyacrilamide gel (Bio-Rad) which was stained with coo-
volume of buffer B (Table 1) is then added, fol- massie blue. Lane 1 is from an uninduced Fp251 culture.
lowed by incubation in a 75° C water bath for 30 Lane 2 is from an induced Fp251 culture.

Volume 78, Number 2, 2007

Taq DNA polymerase laboratory 73

suming a DNA polymerase activity of 10 units/

µl, this means a lab of 20 students produces a
little over 1 million units of enzyme. At the cur-
rent cost of ∼$0.50/unit for commercial Taq
DNA polymerase preparations, a lab section of
20 students produces a half of million dollars
worth of enzyme (students really enjoy doing
this kind of math!). Because so much active en-
zyme is produced, the amount of starting cells
could be reduced to 1.5 ml per student pair,
which would allow for the purification process
including the centrifugation step to be performed
Figure 3. Agarose gel showing Taq DNA polymerase activ-
ity. Eight µl of the PCR was mixed with 2 µl of 10× loading in a microcentrifuge tube.
dye and electrophoresed through a 1% agarose gel in Tris- In addition to learning about PCR, primer de-
acetate-EDTA buffer and ethidium bromide (0.1 µg/ml). The sign, molecular cloning, protein analysis, and
gel was visualized using a UV light box and photographed
using a digital camera. Lane 1 is DNA size standards. Lane 2 biotechnology, numerous components of the lac
used the purified Taq DNA polymerase. Lane 3 used a 1:10 operon are used in these laboratory activities
dilution of the purified DNA polymerase. Lane 4 used 2 units thereby giving students hands-on experience
of commercial Taq DNA polymerase (Sigma RedTaq). Lane
5 was a control PCR lacking template DNA, but used Taq with a genetic system they learn about in the
DNA polymerase as in lane 2. classroom. Blue/white screening involves ␤-ga-
lactosidase, the product of the lacZ gene. Plas-
comparison, PCR is also performed using 2 units mid pTTQ18 also contains the lacI gene encod-
of a commercial Taq DNA polymerase prepara- ing the lac repressor protein that binds to the op-
tion. A stock plasmid (pACT) and corresponding erator element, lacO, within the transcriptional
primers are used in the PCR assay that should promoter used in pTTQ18. This makes gene ex-
result in the amplification of a 300 base-pair am- pression dependent on the addition of IPTG, a
plicon. Reactions contain 2.5 µl 10× PCR buffer nonhydrolyzable lactose mimic that binds to and
with MgCl2 (Promega), 0.3 mM dNTPs, 10 pmol inactivates the lac repressor.
each of forward and reverse primers, 0.1 µg tem- In the U.S., the patents covering the PCR pro-
plate DNA, 2 µl (or 2 µl of 1/10 dilution) of Taq cess including the production and use of Taq
protein fraction, and water to 25 µl final volume. DNA polymerase have recently expired. These
PCR is performed in a thermocycler pro- patent expirations provide an opportunity for
grammed for 94° C for 2 minutes followed by 35 many life science researchers and teachers to
cycles of 94° C for 30 seconds, 55° C for 30 sec- produce and use their own supply of Taq DNA
onds, 72° C for 1 minute. Agarose gel electro- polymerase. The protocols described in this pa-
phoresis shows that the expected 300 base-pair per produce a large quantity of pure and active
fragment is produced by both the student puri- enzyme that can be used in both teaching and re-
fied and commercial Taq DNA polymerase search laboratories. When stored in 50% glyc-
preparations (Figure 3, lanes 2–4). Based on the erol at −20° C, our Taq DNA polymerase prepa-
relative intensity of the amplicons in the stained rations remain active for at least a year.
gel, 2 µl of 1/10 diluted supernatant fraction (lane
3) is at least equivalent to 2 units of commercial Acknowledgements. We thank Mark Holland
Taq DNA polymerase (lane 2) indicating the stu- and Adam Lowe for helpful comments on the
dent-prepared protein fraction has about 10 manuscript and the Salisbury University stu-
units/µl of DNA polymerase activity. dents in Molecular Genetics (BIOL370) who
helped test these protocols. Thanks to Paul Good
Additional comments and David R. Engelke for the pTTQ18 plasmid.
In this lab activity, each student pair produces This work was supported by USDA Higher Edu-
12 ml of a Taq DNA polymerase solution. As- cation Challenge Grant 2003-38411-13494 and

Volume 78, Number 2, 2007

74 BIOS

a Salisbury University Henson School of Sci- preparation from yeast efficiently releases autonomous
plasmids for transformation of Escherichia coli. Gene 57:
ence Undergraduate Research Grant. 267–272.
More information about the laboratory activ- Lawyer F.C., Stoffel S., Saiki R.K., Myambo K., Drummond
ity can be found at www.salisbury.edu/biology/ R., and Gelfand D.H. (1989). Isolation, characterization,
faculty/flerickson/FLElab.htm. and expression in Escherichia coli of the DNA polymer-
ase gene from Thermus aquaticus. Journal of Biological
Chemistry. 264:6427–37.
Lo, Y.M. and Chan K.C. (2006) Introduction to the Polymer-
Literature Cited ase Chain Reaction. Methods in Molecular Biology. 336.
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and sp. n., a nonsporulating extreme thermophile. Journal H. (1986). Specific enzymatic amplification of DNA in
of Bacteriology. 98(1):289–297. vitro: the polymerase chain reaction. Cold Spring Harbor
Chien A., Edgar D.B., and Trela J.M. (1976) Deoxyribonu- Symposium on Quantitative Biology. 51 Pt 1:263–373.
cleic acid polymerase from the extreme thermophile Pluthero, FG. (1993) Rapid purification of high-activity Taq
Thermus aquaticus. Journal of Bacteriology. 127:1550– DNA polymerase. Nucleic Acid Research. 21:4850–
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Engelke D.R., Krikos A., Bruck M.E., and Ginsburg D. Saiki R.K., Gelfand D.H., Stoffel S., Scharf S.J., Higuchi R.,
(1990). Purification of Thermus aquaticus DNA polymer- Horn G.T., Mullis K.B., Erlich, H.A., (1988) Primer-
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Desai U.J. and Pfaffle P.K. (1995). Single-step purification
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Hoffman, C.S. and Winston, F. (1987). A ten-minute DNA Received 8 September 2006; accepted 19 February 2007.

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