Application of Real-Time qPCR Broadens: Technology's Ability to Quantify RNA Levels Makes It Chief among the Many Tools Used to Understand Gene Silencing

摘要

As RNAi continues to gain in popularity as a tool for gene silencing and studying gene function as well as biochemical pathways, qPCR has played an important role in quantifying RNA transcripts to validate gene knockdown. While qPCR is an invaluable assest for assessing changes in RNA levels, understanding the full scope of the effects of gene silencing requires a multi-disciplinary approach that combines qPCR, 2-D gel electrophoresis, and Western blotting, according to Hilary K.Srere, Ph. D., marketing mannager for amplification in the gene expression divi-sion at Bio- Rad Laboratories (www.biorad .com).