Abstract:We discuss the role of water bridging the DNA-enzyme interaction by resorting to recent results showing that London dispersion forces between delocalized electrons of base pairs of DNA are responsible for the formation of dipole modes that can be recognized by Taq polymerase. We describe the dynamical origin of the high efficiency and precise targeting of Taq activity in PCR. The spatiotemporal distribution of interaction couplings, frequencies, amplitudes, and phase modulations comprise a pattern of fields instantiating the electromagnetic image of DNA in its water environment, which is what the polymerase enzyme actually recognizes at long range. The experimental realization of PCR amplification, achieved through replacement of the DNA template by the treatment of pure water with electromagnetic signals recorded from viral and bacterial DNA solutions, is found consistent with the gauge theory paradigm of quantum fields.