Mapping mRNA Ends with RACE

RACE, or Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends, is a PCR-based method used to find the full length of an mRNA transcript. It extends cDNA to either the 3' end or the 5' end, even when the full sequence is not already known. Because it focuses on one end of a transcript, it is also called one-sided or anchored PCR.

Typically, with novel mRNAs only a portion of its complete sequence is known. The missing nucleotide sequences at the ends of the mRNA can be determined using a PCR-based method called Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends, or RACE.

In eukaryotes, mature mRNAs have distinctive structural features at both ends. At the five-prime end, most have a...