Random mutagenesis by error-prone polymerase chain reaction using a heavy water solvent

Abstract

Heavy water is a form of water that contains a heavier isotope of hydrogen (2 H, also known as deuterium, D) or oxygen (17O or18O). When using heavy water as a solvent, error-prone polymerase chain reaction (epPCR) can induce random mutations independent of the polymerase used or the composition of the PCR reaction mixture. This relatively new method can easily be combined with the existing epPCR methods to increase the rate of mutations.