BioMed Central Blog

BMC Research Notes topical series on qRT-PCR normalization and optimization

By measuring the kinetics of the reaction in the early phases of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), quantitative real time PCR (qRT-PCR) allows the rapid detection and quantification of nucleic acids. As part of BioMed Central’s ongoing efforts to promote data standards and encourage the normalization and optimization of widely used technologies - as exemplified by the BMC Research Notes series on microarrays - BMC Research Notes is launching a new topical series on quantitative real-time PCR normalization and optimization.

qRT-PCR is a commonly used technology with a wide range of applications such as viral quantitation, pathogen detection, quantification of gene expression and oligonucleotide array validation. But the validity and reproducibility of results of qRT-PCR studies depend on a number of factors including the appropriate selection and validation of reference genes, the sufficient reporting of experimental settings - details of which are listed in the MIQE guidelines (Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments) and ultimately the use of validated statistical tools and methods of data analysis.

The series, edited by Dr Joshua Yuan Associate Professor in Bioinformatics at the Texas A&M University Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, brings together descriptions of reference genes [1, 2] and potential associated experimental artifacts as well as tools for the improvement of RT-PCR performance [3, 4] and data analysis.  

Guillaume Susbielle
In-house Editor - BMC Research Notes

Posted by Victoria Thompson at 17:27    Comments (1)