RACE to the 5' End

Invitrogen's Gene Racer Kit Expressed sequence tags are powerful tools for gene expression studies, but when there is simply no substitute for a full-length cDNA, researchers turn to protocols for the Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE). RACE techniques couple cDNA synthesis with a method that attaches a "known" sequence to the end of the gene to enable PCR amplification. Knowing the 5' end of a transcript can aid promoter, gene mapping, and alternate exon usage analyses. Unfortunately, 5' R

Written byJeffrey Perkel

| 2 min read

Save for Later

Listen with Speechify

0:00

2:00

Invitrogen's Gene Racer Kit

Expressed sequence tags are powerful tools for gene expression studies, but when there is simply no substitute for a full-length cDNA, researchers turn to protocols for the Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE). RACE techniques couple cDNA synthesis with a method that attaches a "known" sequence to the end of the gene to enable PCR amplification. Knowing the 5' end of a transcript can aid promoter, gene mapping, and alternate exon usage analyses. Unfortunately, 5' RACE is often hampered by a number of technical difficulties. "Fragmented RNA, premature termination of cDNA synthesis due to secondary structure, and a strong bias in PCR for short amplicons all contribute to the deserved reputation of RACE as a difficult and failure-prone technique," observes Eric Lader, senior scientist at Ambion of Austin, Texas.

Enter the FirstChoice™ RLM-RACE Kit from Ambion and the GeneRacer™ Kit from Invitrogen of Carlsbad Calif., which ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here