High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) is a variation of the polymerase chain reaction that permits multiple targets to be amplified with only a single primer pair. Each probe consists of a two oligonucleotides which recognise adjacent target sites on the DNA. One probe oligonucleotide contains the sequence recognised by the forward primer, the other the sequence recognised by the reverse primer. Only when both probe oligonucleotides are hybridised to their respective targets, can they be ligated into a complete probe. The advantage of splitting the probe into two parts is that only the ligated oligonucleotides, but not the unbound probe oligonucleotides, are amplified. If the probes were not split in this way, the primer sequences at either end would cause the probes to be amplified regardless of their hybridization to the template DNA, and the amplification product would not be dependent on the number of target sites present in the sample DNA. Each complete probe has a unique length, so that its resulting amplicons can be separated and identified by (capillary) electrophoresis. This avoids the resolution limitations of multiplex PCR. Since the forward primer used for probe amplification is fluorescently labeled, each amplicon generates a fluorescent peak which can be detected by a capillary sequencer. Comparing the peak pattern obtained on a given sample with that obtained on various reference samples, the relative quantity of each amplicon can be determined. This ratio is a measure for the ratio in which the target sequence is present in the sample DNA.