Talk:Real-time PCR

The Babel effect

I originally thought to use Q-PCR as the title for a page describing QRT-PCR because:

• it's short (compare: quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR = QRT-PCR or RT-RT-PCR)
• it indicates what this technique is about: quantification (would you know what the technique is for if you had never heard about it and just read the term "real time PCR"?)

Q-PCR with previous reverse transcription could be put separately but since Q-PCR is usually preceeded by RT, I thought it best to keep things together here. Jasu 13:47, 26 March 2007 (EDT), edited Jakob Suckale 10:15, 14 January 2008 (CST)

• Reshma 15:37, 9 October 2007 (CDT): I think it might be worth distinguishing between the different variants of quantitative PCR. You're right that Q-PCR is normally preceded by reverse transcription and that normally when people talk about Q-PCR, they mean real time PCR. But neither of these has to be the case. So it might be worth making the Q-PCR page discuss all the variants so that people can understand what each variant does.

• Hi Reshma, you do have a point that quantitative PCR is not always real time reverse transcribed PCR and this is why we should have different pages. I do, however, think that most people looking for qPCR actually mean real time reverse transcribed/transcription PCR, since endpoint PCR is not used much anymore especially for publication data. The same is probably true for real-time PCR which in most cases also means real-time PCR of cDNA/reverse transcribed RNA. I'll make sure to link these pages to PCR techniques as a central reference point to reduce the confusion created by these terms. Jakob Suckale 10:15, 14 January 2008 (CST)

• Reshma 16:20, 9 October 2007 (CDT): I moved some pages around. See PCR techniques for the complete list.

Thanks

Mille grazie a Mile. Vielen Dank an Sandra. Thanks for getting me started with Q-PCR. Jasu 10:37, 26 March 2007 (EDT)