Which process is commonly used to amplify DNA segments?

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a widely used technique for amplifying specific segments of DNA. This process involves repeated cycles of denaturation, annealing, and extension, which allows for the exponential amplification of a targeted DNA sequence.

During the denaturation step, the double-stranded DNA is heated to separate it into two single strands. In the annealing step, short primers that are complementary to the target DNA sequence bind to the single strands of DNA. Finally, in the extension step, DNA polymerase synthesizes new strands of DNA by adding nucleotides to the primers, effectively duplicating the targeted region of DNA. This cycle is repeated multiple times, resulting in millions of copies of the specific DNA segment.

This method is integral to many applications, including genetic research, forensic science, and medical diagnostics. It is highly efficient and selective, allowing researchers to obtain large quantities of a specific DNA fragment from a small initial sample. Other processes listed, such as transcription and translation, are involved in the expression of genes and protein synthesis, while RFLP is a method used for analyzing DNA but is not specifically for amplification.