RT-PCR for Detecting RNA in Samples

RT-PCR is used to detect RNA in environmental samples by first converting RNA into DNA. It follows the same temperature-cycling steps as conventional PCR, but it begins with ribonucleic acid (RNA) instead of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The RNA is turned into complementary DNA, or cDNA, so DNA-based tools can be used to stud...

Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, or RT-PCR, enables the detection of RNA viruses and microbial gene expression in the environment.

Unlike cellular organisms from humans to bacteria, which use DNA as their genetic material, some viruses have genomes made of RNA, including many pathogenic viruses such as flu, Ebola, and HIV. ...