BDA is a process for amplifying DNA sequences using only a single primer. The method has not been published yet, which seems strange for a hot new process. The story is as follows:

I received my Ph.D. From Oregon State University in 1986, and worked as a post-doc at UCSD until 1989, when I became disillusioned with research and took a position as an administrator at OSU. My wife is also a molecular bioligist and was having a problem cloning a gene. Basically she only had sequence for one primer. I was not really up on PCR, and she explained the problem to me, as well as a couple of ligation based strategies for overcoming the problem. She pointed out some of the problems with these techniques. I sort of rattled an idea off of the top of my head. We both kind of gasped when we realized the simplicity of it and how it could be used to amplify DNA sequences. Needless to say, I didn't have a lab in which to work, so I spoke to Chris Mathews, the Chairman of the OSU Dept. of Bioch./Bioph. about the idea. He was interested in it enough to give me lab space and about $1000 to see if it worked. Within a month or so of working evenings I was able to demonstrate that the method worked (amplification 10,000 to 100,000 fold unoptimized) and at that time with Oregon State University filed a patent application. I've wanted to have the time and money to go back to the lab to polish up the data for a nice publication, but have not been able to, primarily for lack of time. (In addition to my administrative duties, I teach at OSU and edit a scientific software journal called BIOTECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE JOURNAL). Additionally, at about the time I filed the patent application, a start-up company came along that was interested in licensing BDA. They offered to do work on it and we (OSU and I) agreed. Meanwhile I had a revolutionary idea for an in vivo method for amplification called Hula Hoop Cloning (HHC) that got everyone excited. (One major biotech company in California signed a non-disclosure agreement to test HHC, but never completed the work. It is in a less developed state than BDA, but is also available for anyone interested). The start-up company, despite initial interest, did not do any work on BDA because the direction of the company changed and they dropped all licensing rights. Consequently, research on BDA languished as it made its way through the patent process, which is where it is at today. Since nothing has been published about it, BDA is a mystery to most molecular biologists, but I've used the method to show specific, targeted amplification of 10,000 to 100,000 fold of DNA fragments, despite not having had time or money for optimizing the process. Moreover, I'm more than happy to share what little information I have on the process.

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