Simultaneous control of DNA and RNA processing efficiency using a nucleic acid calibration set.

PCR-based detection techniques enables reliable and sensitive nucleic acid target detection. However, quantitative determination methods often fail to control for the efficiency of nucleic acid extraction, reverse transcription, and PCR amplification. This problem is even more prominent when working with clinical samples due to target sequence loss during nucleic acid processing or the co-purification of PCR inhibitors (1,2). Handling processes are often assumed to approach 100% efficiency in the laboratory, even if practical experience shows that this efficiency can be much lower. This inability to ensure accuracy can lead to significant error in uncalibrated DNA sample quantitation. The additional need for reverse transcription of RNA may further increase the quantitative error rate, as yet another enzymatic process is involved. Nucleic acid controls have been developed based upon known sequences to calibrate either DNA or RNA handling; DNA calibrators have been used to control for the amplification of target sequences using realtime PCR methods (3–8), while RNA calibrators have been developed to test reverse transcription and amplification efficiencies (9–11). A nonpathogenic viral particle carrying a sequence for use as an external positive control of extraction and amplification has also been described (12). Unfortunately, most of the established processing controls are only suitable for limited applications (i.e., either DNA or RNA detection). Cross-contamination of biological samples or minute detection from natural sources reveals the need for completely synthetic sequences, with no homology to sequences in the nucleic acid databases. It is, therefore, beneficial to design an internal, synthetic calibration system that can control for both DNA and RNA processing steps in a single tube. This set includes both RNA and DNA targets with identical primer binding sites and, thus, primer binding efficiency, but easily distinguishable sequence characteristics, allowing for simultaneous detection, quantitation, and calibration of nucleic acid processing efficiency. A 150-bp randomly generated nucleic acid sequence was developed for use as a short control (SC). A GCrich 75-bp sequence was inserted in the middle of the 150-bp sequence to generate a 225-bp sequence, long control (LC). Besides size, the two sequences were designed to have easily distinguishable probe binding sites with a predicted product melting temperature difference of 4°C. Calibrator sequences have been published as GenBank® accession nos. EF143258 (DNA control, LC) and EF143257 (RNA control, SC). Simultaneous control of DNA and RNA processing efficiency using a nucleic acid calibration se