If the PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) does not contain Taq polymerase, the reaction would not progress as intended.
Taq polymerase is an essential enzyme in the PCR process, as its primary role is to synthesize new DNA strands by adding nucleotides to the primers. Without this enzyme, even with all other components such as primers, nucleotides, and buffer present, the crucial step of DNA amplification would be impossible.
During the PCR process, the reaction goes through a series of temperature cycles: denaturation, annealing, and extension. The denaturation step separates the DNA strands, the annealing step allows primers to bind to the target sequences, but it is the extension step that requires Taq polymerase to elongate the new DNA strands. In the absence of Taq polymerase, the extension phase simply would not occur, and as a result, no DNA amplification would be realized.
In summary, without Taq polymerase, the PCR process would effectively halt after the denaturation and annealing phases, meaning no amplification of DNA fragments would take place, rendering the experiment ineffective.