DreamTaq DNA Polymerases

PCR, or DNA polymerase chain reaction, is a widely used laboratory technique in molecular biology to make multiple copies of a specific DNA sequence up to 5 kb in size. Taq polymerase, either native or recombinant, is used for routine PCR experiments. Enhanced Taq DNA Polymerases, such as DreamTaq DNA polymerase, provide a more robust performance and DNA amplification in routine PCR applications, offering greater sensitivity, longer PCR products, and higher yields than standard Taq Polymerases. Hot-start PCR prevents the amplification of non-specific products, amplifies low abundance targets, and offers convenient room temperature reaction setup. DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerases offers higher sensitivity, specificity, and yields compared to conventional hot start Taq DNA polymerases.

DreamTaq DNA Polymerases for everyday PCR

Thermo Scientific DreamTaq DNA Polymerase is an enhanced Taq DNA polymerase, available in standard and hot-start formats, that offers a balance between performance and value. DreamTaq DNA Polymerases are supplied with specially optimized buffers that enable robust DNA amplification with minimal optimization of reaction conditions. The Thermo Scientific DreamTaq Green Buffer also supports convenient direct gel loading of PCR products.

Benefits of DreamTaq DNA Polymerase over Taq Polymerase

Higher yields, sensitivity, and longer target length than conventional Taq enzymes
Robust amplification without MgCl₂ optimization
Standalone and master mix formats for convenience in reaction setup
Direct gel loading with the green buffer to help simplify downstream gel analysis

Watch this video on how to perform colony PCR with DreamTaq DNA polymerase.

Compare DreamTaq and DreamTaq Hot Start Polymerases

	DreamTaq DNA Polymerase	DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase
*Fidelity (vs. Taq* DNA polymerase)**	1x	1x
Enhanced specificity (hot-start modification)	No	Yes
Sensitivity (human gDNA)	30 pg	3 pg
Amplification length (human gDNA/lambda DNA)	6 kb**/20 kb	6 kb**/20 kb
dUTP incorporation	No	Yes
3′A overhang	Yes	Yes
DNA synthesis rate	1 min/kb	1 min/kb
Stand-alone enzyme
Colorless Order now Green^† Order now		Colorless Order now Green^† Order now
Master mix
Colorless Order now Green^† Order now		Colorless Order now Green^† Order now

**Up to 7.5 kb and 9 kb are possible with the standard and hot-start versions, respectively
†Contains inert green dyes for direct gel loading of PCR products

For basic PCR
For higher PCR specificity

Reasons to choose DreamTaq DNA Polymerase

Optimized for basic PCR applications
Higher sensitivity, longer PCR products, and higher yields than conventional Taq DNA polymerases
Robust DNA amplification with minimal optimization of reaction conditions

Increased PCR sensitivity and amplicon yields

DreamTaq DNA Polymerase offers higher PCR sensitivity compared to conventional Taq enzymes. Robust amplification can be achieved even with very low quantities of template DNA.

Composite of six gel images; each gel has four lanes of sample and one lane of ladder. DreamTaq DNA Polymerase gel shows clear bands

Figure 1. High yields from low amounts of DNA template. A 956 bp fragment from human genomic DNA was amplified with DreamTaq DNA Polymerase (A) and Taq DNA Polymerases from other vendors (B–F) according to manufacturers’ recommendations using 30 pg, 300 pg, 3 ng, and 30 ng of template DNA, respectively. Only DreamTaq DNA Polymerase was able to amplify from all template amounts giving high yields (A). A: DreamTaq Green PCR Master Mix; B: NEB OneTaq Quick-Load 2X Master Mix with Standard Buffer; C: Promega GoTaq G2 Green Master Mix; D: Bioline MyTaq Red Mix; E: TakaRa EmeraldAmp GT PCR Master Mix; F: Qiagen Taq PCR Master Mix Kit; DNA ladder: Thermo Scientific GeneRuler Express DNA Ladder.

Robust amplification of longer amplicons

DreamTaq DNA polymerase can amplify targets up to 7.5 kb from genomic DNA and up to 20 kb from lambda DNA. DreamTaq DNA Polymerase outperforms conventional Taq enzymes, providing higher yields and amplifying longer amplicons.

Composite of eight gel images; each gel six lanes of sample and one lane of ladder. DreamTaq DNA Polymerase gel shows clear bands.

Figure 2. Amplification of longer amplicons with DreamTaq DNA Polymerase. DNA fragments of increasing length (160 bp, 345 bp, 727 bp, 1,988 bp, 4,473 bp, 7,500 bp) were amplified with DreamTaq DNA Polymerase (A) and Taq DNA polymerases from other vendors (B–H) according to manufacturers’ recommendations. Only DreamTaq DNA Polymerase was able to amplify all fragments even up to 7.5 kb with high yields and specificity. A: DreamTaq DNA Polymerase; B: Promega GoTaq G2 DNA Polymerase; C: NEB OneTaq DNA Polymerase; D: Qiagen Taq DNA Polymerase; E: Roche Taq DNA Polymerase; F: Bioline MyTaq DNA Polymerase; G: Takara TaqDNA Polymerase; H: KAPA Biosystems Taq PCR Kit; DNA ladder: GeneRuler 1 kb plus DNA Ladder.

Ready-to-load PCR products

The DreamTaq Green format is a combination of DreamTaq DNA Polymerase and the Green reaction buffer. The buffer includes a density reagent and two tracking dyes for direct loading of PCR products on gels. The Green Buffer does not interfere with the performance of DreamTaq DNA Polymerase and is compatible with downstream applications including DNA sequencing, ligation, and restriction digestion.

Gel with 12 lanes of samples flanked by bands from ladders

Figure 3. Equal PCR performance with green and colorless reaction buffer. DNA fragments (376 bp, 634 bp, and 2,000 bp) were amplified with DreamTaq and DreamTaq Green Master Mixes with equal efficiency. DNA Ladder: GeneRuler Express DNA Ladder.

8-tube strip containing green master mix held by blue-gloved hands. Two insets A & B. Inset A shows two wells filled with green reagent; inset B shows two bands of blue and two bands of yellow dyes

Figure 4. Reaction mixtures containing DreamTaq Green Reaction Buffer. (A) Before electrophoresis. (B) Blue and yellow tracking dyes after electrophoresis. Blue dye migrates as 3–5 kb fragment, yellow dye migrates faster than 10 bp fragment allowing monitoring of electrophoresis progress.

Robust amplification with minimal optimization

DreamTaq DNA Polymerase is supplied with DreamTaq buffer containing an optimized ratio of KCl and (NH₄)₂SO₄, which facilitates amplification of DNA fragments at a single MgCl₂ concentration, increases specificity during PCR, and supports wider primer annealing temperatures.

Gel image with 12 lanes flanked by bands from ladders.

Figure 5. Optimal MgCl₂ concentration for different fragment amplification. Three DNA fragments were amplified with an increasing amount of MgCl₂ concentration. At 2 mM concentration, which is the final MgCl₂ concentration in a reaction with DreamTaq DNA Polymerase, all three fragments were amplified with high yields and no nonspecific PCR products. 1: 2 mM MgCl₂; 2: 2.5 mM MgCl₂; 3: 3 mM MgCl₂; 4: 4 mM MgCl₂; DNA Ladder: ZipRuler Express DNA Ladder.

Native Taq polymerases for routine PCR

Reasons to choose DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase

DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase is the hot-start version of our enhanced DreamTaq DNA Polymerase. The hot-start activation feature inhibits polymerase activity at ambient temperature and prevents non-specific amplification. Therefore, DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase is marked by increased sensitivity, specificity, and enables reaction setup at room temperature without compromising PCR specificity and yield.

Better reaction outcomes:

Reduced nonspecific amplification
Increased sensitivity
Increased yield
Longer amplicons

Convenience with:

Room-temperature reaction setup
Reaction stability at room-temperature

High specificity and yields from various amplicon lengths

DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase excels over competitor products by efficiently amplifying DNA fragments of various lengths with high yields. Its robust hot-start properties ensure the selective amplification of specific fragments.

Composite of six gel images; Each gel has four lanes of sample and one lane of ladder. DreamTaq DNA Polymerase gel shows clearer bands compared to competitor products

Figure 6. Robust amplification of human genomic DNA. DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase yields more PCR products, form cleaner bands, and amplify longer amplicons than hot-start DNA polymerases from other suppliers. Amplification products (160 bp, 727 bp, 2 kb, or 5 kb) from human genomic DNA are shown in the figure above. M: GeneRuler 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder; 1: DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase; 2: Promega GoTaq G2 Hot Start Polymerase; 3: NEB OneTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase; 4: Takara Taq DNA Polymerase Hot Start Version; 5: Kapa Biosystems KAPA2G Robust HotStart PCR Kit; 6: Bioline MyTaq HS DNA Polymerase.

Excellent for use with limited starting material

DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase can detect DNA templates as low as 3 pg of human genomic DNA and is excellent for experiments with limited amount of starting material or low concentration of target DNA.

Gel with 18 lanes flanked by bands from ladders

Figure 7. High sensitivity: DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase amplifies from lower template amounts than hot-start DNA polymerases from other suppliers. Each set of PCR reactions contained either 3 pg, 30 pg, or 3 ng of human genomic DNA. M: GeneRuler Express DNA Ladder; 1: DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase; 2: TaKaRa Taq DNA Polymerase Hot Start Version; 3: Kapa Biosystems KAPA2G Robust HotStart PCR Kit; 4: Bioline MyTaq HS DNA Polymerase; 5: NEB OneTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase; 6: Promega GoTaq G2 Hot Start Polymerase.

Robust yields across a wide range of amplicons

DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase can amplify sequences up to 9 kb of human genomic DNA and up to 20 kb of lambda DNA.

Gel with 6 lanes flanked by bands from ladder

Figure 8. Consistent and reliable amplification. DreamTaq Hot Start DNA Polymerase amplifies human genomic DNA up to 9 kb amplicons with high specificity. Longer sequences up to 20 kb can be amplified with lambda DNA templates. M: GeneRuler 1 kb Plus DNA Ladder.

For basic PCR

Reasons to choose DreamTaq DNA Polymerase

Optimized for basic PCR applications
Higher sensitivity, longer PCR products, and higher yields than conventional Taq DNA polymerases
Robust DNA amplification with minimal optimization of reaction conditions

Increased PCR sensitivity and amplicon yields

DreamTaq DNA Polymerase offers higher PCR sensitivity compared to conventional Taq enzymes. Robust amplification can be achieved even with very low quantities of template DNA.