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Hereditas(Beijing) ›› 2020, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4): 363-373.doi: 10.16288/j.yczz.19-351

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Digital PCR and its application in biological detection

Xiujing Feng, Hongmei Yi, Xingxu Ren, Jiali Ren, Jianrong Ge, Fengge Wang()   

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Maize DNA Fingerprinting and Molecular Breeding, Maize Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China
  • Received:2019-11-18 Revised:2020-03-12 Online:2020-04-20 Published:2020-03-31
  • Contact: Wang Fengge E-mail:gege0106@163.com
  • Supported by:
    Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China No(2017YFD0102001);the National Genetically Modified Organisms Key Breeding Projects of China No(2017ZX08013001)

Abstract:

Various derivative technologies based on PCR for nucleic acid detection have emerged with the continuous development and the diverse needs of molecular biology technology. Digital PCR (dPCR) is a nucleic acid detection method for large scale amplification based on a single molecular template, which runs an individual PCR reaction using chambers/wells or droplets. dPCR can be used for absolute quantification for the initial concentration of samples without calibrator and drawing standard curve, showing the characteristics of high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. In this review, we introduce the history of technology development, principle, and instrument platform types of digital PCR in detail. Then, we summarize the application of this technology in GMO quantification, disease diagnosis, environment and food supervision. Finally, we describe the application prospect of dPCR, providing a reference for the development and utilization of this technology in the future.

Key words: digital PCR, single molecule, absolute quantification