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Taq DNA Polymerase for Standard and Hot-Start PCR Use

MBP Inc. supplies recombinant Taq DNA polymerase — the thermostable enzyme from Thermus aquaticus that underpins PCR — in standard formulations.

Supplied with optimized reaction buffers, Taq polymerase products support reliable DNA amplification for genotyping, colony screening, and diagnostic PCR workflows in research laboratories across the USA and Canada. Request a quote by contacting customerservice@mbpinc.net today!

Taq DNA Polymerase

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What Is Taq DNA Polymerase?

Taq DNA polymerase, isolated from the thermophilic bacterium Thermus aquaticus, was the enzyme that made modern PCR possible. Its thermostability — retaining activity after repeated denaturation cycles at 94-95°C — eliminated the need to add fresh enzyme after each cycle, a limitation of earlier PCR approaches using non-thermostable polymerases.

What you will find:

High-Purity Enzymes: Versatile standalone polymerases, including Azura™ and Accuris series, available in flexible formats from 500 to 6000 units to suit both small-scale projects and high-volume industrial applications.
Optimized Performance: Specialized formulations designed for superior processivity and flexible reaction tuning, allowing for high-yield synthesis across diverse and challenging DNA templates.

How to Choose Taq DNA Polymerase

Standard vs. Hot-Start
Standard Taq is active immediately at room temperature, suitable for most routine genotyping and screening applications. Hot-start Taq formulations remain reversibly inactive until a high-temperature activation step, improving specificity for multiplex or low-abundance template reactions.

Buffer System Compatibility
Optimised 10x PCR buffers are formulated to complement the enzyme's activity profile — using mismatched buffer systems from other suppliers can affect yield and specificity, so matched buffer-enzyme pairs are recommended.

MgCl2 Titration Needs
MgCl2 concentration is one of the most influential variables in PCR specificity and yield. Separate MgCl2 solutions allow titration for templates or primer sets requiring optimisation beyond standard buffer concentrations.

Concentration and Unit Format
Enzyme is typically supplied in units (U) reflecting incorporation activity per unit time — confirm the unit concentration matches your typical reaction scale to avoid excessive dilution or waste.

Application Scope
Genotyping, colony screening after transformation, diagnostic band confirmation, and general routine amplification are the primary applications for standard and hot-start Taq DNA polymerase.

Specifications Context

Taq DNA polymerase’s thermostability — the ability to withstand repeated 94–95 °C denaturation cycles without loss of activity — enabled practical PCR workflows based on a single thermostable enzyme. The enzyme lacks 3′→5′ proofreading exonuclease activity, resulting in a higher error rate than high-fidelity polymerases (e.g., Phusion, Q5, KOD, Pfu-based systems), making it suitable for genotyping and screening but less appropriate for cloning- or sequencing-grade amplification.

Standard storage is at −20 °C, and many formulations are generally tolerant to multiple freeze–thaw cycles depending on buffer composition; lot-specific CoAs are available on request. In laboratories using both standard and hot-start Taq formulations, clear labelling and separation of storage conditions help prevent cross-use, particularly in assays where hot-start specificity is critical. A side-by-side validation on a known template when adopting a new Taq formulation can help establish expected amplification efficiency and specificity before routine use. Product availability reflects MBP’s catalogue as of mid-2026.

Refine your amplification results—contact the MBP team today for a quote on our professional Taq Polymerase solutions.

FAQ

Taq DNA polymerase is a thermostable DNA polymerase originally isolated from Thermus aquaticus, a thermophilic bacterium found in hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. It was this thermostability -- the ability to survive repeated denaturation at 94-95 degrees Celsius -- that made automated PCR possible. The commercial Taq used today is a recombinant protein expressed in E. coli carrying the pol gene from T. aquaticus.

Taq DNA polymerase has an error rate of approximately 2.2 x 10^-5 errors per nucleotide per cycle. For a 1 kb amplicon over 30 cycles, this corresponds to approximately one error per 1,500 bp of final product. This error rate is acceptable for genotyping and screening applications but is too high for cloning products into expression vectors or for sequencing-based analysis, where high-fidelity proofreading polymerases are required.

Taq DNA polymerase non-templated adds a single deoxyadenosine (dA) to the 3' end of PCR products due to its terminal transferase activity. These 3'-dA overhangs are directly compatible with TA cloning vectors that have complementary 3'-dT overhangs, allowing rapid, ligation-independent directional cloning of PCR products without restriction enzyme digestion. For blunt-end cloning or sequencing, the overhangs must be removed by a proofreading polymerase.

Recombinant Taq DNA polymerase from MBP is supplied with 10x PCR buffer (100 mM Tris-HCl pH 8.8, 500 mM KCl, 16 mM MgCl2, 1% Triton X-100). An optional separate 25 mM MgCl2 solution is available for titration of Mg2+ concentration in difficult PCR applications. CoralLoad or equivalent dye-containing buffer variants are available that allow direct gel loading of PCR products.

Taq DNA polymerase should be stored at -20 degrees Celsius in a constant-temperature freezer. Most formulations are stable at room temperature (15-25 degrees Celsius) for up to 2 weeks without significant loss of activity, making them suitable for ambient-temperature shipping. Repeated freeze-thaw cycles should be minimised by aliquoting into single-use volumes upon receipt.

Standard recombinant Taq DNA polymerase reliably amplifies targets up to approximately 5 kb in length. For longer amplicons (5-20 kb), long-range PCR enzyme blends incorporating both Taq and a proofreading polymerase are required. These blends combine the processivity of Taq with the error-correction capability of a proofreading enzyme to amplify long, high-fidelity products.

Antibody-mediated hot-start Taq (such as JumpStart Taq) uses antibodies that bind and inactivate the enzyme at room temperature; the antibodies denature during the initial 94-95 degree Celsius incubation, releasing fully active Taq. Chemical hot-start Taq uses a proprietary modifier that blocks active site residues at low temperatures and releases upon heat activation. Both approaches prevent room-temperature primer extension, but antibody-mediated hot-start typically restores full activity faster and more consistently.

Standard Taq requires purified DNA template. Direct PCR from whole blood, tissue, or colony material typically requires specialised formulations containing cell lysis buffers, high-pH conditions, or detergents that inactivate PCR inhibitors present in crude samples. Research has demonstrated that E. coli-expressed Taq in high-pH buffer with 2% Tween 20 and 0.4 M trehalose can amplify directly from anticoagulated whole blood. Contact MBP for direct PCR formulations compatible with your sample type.

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