QRT-PCR

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QRT-PCR

QRT-PCR (pronounced as "cue-are-tee-pee-see-are"), also known as Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, is a laboratory technique used in molecular biology to amplify and simultaneously quantify a targeted DNA molecule. It is a variant of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a technology that greatly amplifies a single piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating millions or more copies of a particular DNA sequence.

Etymology

The term "QRT-PCR" is an acronym derived from the words Quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction. "Quantitative" refers to the ability of this method to measure the quantity of a specific DNA sequence, "Reverse Transcription" refers to the process of creating a complementary DNA (cDNA) from an RNA template, and "Polymerase Chain Reaction" refers to the technique used to amplify specific DNA sequences.

Process

The QRT-PCR process involves two stages: the synthesis of cDNA from RNA by reverse transcription (RT) and the amplification of a specific cDNA by the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).

The first step in QRT-PCR is the "reverse transcription" of RNA into DNA. This is done using an enzyme called Reverse Transcriptase. The resulting DNA is then used as a template for the PCR reaction.

The second step is the "Polymerase Chain Reaction". This is a method used to amplify a specific DNA sequence. It involves the use of short DNA fragments known as primers that are designed to bind to the DNA sequence of interest. The PCR reaction is then carried out, which results in the amplification of the DNA sequence between the primers.

Applications

QRT-PCR is widely used in research labs for measuring RNA expression levels, validating microarray data, detecting genetic mutations or genetic variations such as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and detecting and quantifying pathogenic organisms.

Related Terms

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