amplification /am′plifikā″shən/ [L, amplificare, to make wider] , 1. (genetic) a process whereby certain targeted sequences of DNA are replicated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in order to produce multiple copies of a single or limited number of genes. Often this refers to increasing the proportion of plasmid DNA relative to the amount of bacterial DNA. 2. the replication in bulk of an entire DNA library. See also polymerase chain reaction. −amplify, v.
