Simple method of zygosity identification in transgenic mice by real-time quantitative PCR

H Shitara, A Sato, J Hayashi, N Mizushima… - Transgenic …, 2004 - Springer
H Shitara, A Sato, J Hayashi, N Mizushima, H Yonekawa, C Taya
Transgenic research, 2004Springer
To determine zygosity in transgenic (Tg) mice, a new technology, real-time quantitative PCR,
has recently been introduced in transgenic research to overcome several drawbacks (time-
consuming, specialized techniques and/or ambiguity in the results) of previously established
methods, for example, Southern blot hybridization, dot blot hybridization, fluorescence in situ
hybridization (FISH), etc. However, the previous real-time quantitative PCR method still
possesses several drawbacks, for example, it needs two sets of primers/probes and the …
Abstract
To determine zygosity in transgenic (Tg) mice, a new technology, real-time quantitative PCR, has recently been introduced in transgenic research to overcome several drawbacks (time-consuming, specialized techniques and/or ambiguity in the results) of previously established methods, for example, Southern blot hybridization, dot blot hybridization, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), etc. However, the previous real-time quantitative PCR method still possesses several drawbacks, for example, it needs two sets of primers/probes and the complicated setting up of appropriate conditions, both of which are expensive and remain time-consuming. We therefore developed an improved real-time quantitative PCR system for determination of zygosity, which is easy, rapid and less expensive, because the technique needs only two experimental processes: estimation of DNA concentration and CYBR Green PCR. We found that homozygous, hemizygous and non-Tg animals could easily be distinguished among F1 littermates in crosses of hemizygous EGFP- and DsRed2-Tg mice. Our improved method will be applicable to any Tg mouse strains, when a primer set is matched to the corresponding transgene.
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