Thermo Fisher Scientific TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User guide

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USER GUIDE
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix
Catalog Numbers 4324018, 4364341, 4364343, 4324020, 4326614, 4304437, 4364338, 4364340,
4305719, 4318157, 4326708
Publication Number 4304449
Revision E
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
The information in this guide is subject to change without notice.
Important Licensing Information:
This product may be covered by one or more Limited Use Label Licenses. By use of this product, you accept the terms and conditions of all applicable Limited
Use Label Licenses.
DISCLAIMER
LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION AND/OR ITS AFFILIATE(S) DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THIS DOCUMENT, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED,
INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THOSE OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. TO THE EXTENT
ALLOWED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL LIFE TECHNOLOGIES AND/OR ITS AFFILIATE(S) BE LIABLE, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, WARRANTY, OR
UNDER ANY STATUTE OR ON ANY OTHER BASIS FOR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, MULTIPLE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN
CONNECTION WITH OR ARISING FROM THIS DOCUMENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE USE THEREOF.
TRADEMARKS
The trademarks mentioned herein are the property of Life Technologies Corporation and/or its affiliate(s) or their respective owners. TaqMan, AmpliTaq Gold,
and AmpErase are registered trademarks of Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., TaqMan used under permission and license. Microsoft and Excel are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Adobe and Reader are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems, Inc. TRI Reagent is a registered trademark of Molecular
Research Center, Inc. Pipetman is a registered trademark of Gilson S.A.S. Eppendorf is a registered tradmark of Eppendorf AG.
© 2014 Life Technologies Corporation. All rights reserved.
Contents
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TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
About this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Purpose of the guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
User attention words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
CHAPTER 1 Product Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Product description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Kit contents and storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Compatible real-time instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Fast instruments and thermal cycling conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Materials required but not included . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CHAPTER 2 Gene expression quantitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Reverse transcription . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
RNA template guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Reagent and sample preparation guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Real-time PCR amplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PCR reagent handling and preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Determine the number of required reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Set up plate document or experiment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Prepare and run the PCR reaction plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CHAPTER 3 Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Baseline and threshold values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Normalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Rn and ΔRn values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Automatic calculation of the baseline and threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Manual setting of the baseline and threshold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Analyze the data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Quantitation of cDNA relative to a calibrator sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
CHAPTER 4 Genotyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Quantitate the DNA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Contents
Determine the number of required reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Perform genotyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Prepare the PCR reaction mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Perform TaqMan® SNP Genotyping PCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Perform TaqMan® Drug Metabolism Genotyping PCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Read the plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Analyze the results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
APPENDIX A Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Troubleshooting gene expression experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Troubleshooting genotyping experiments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Observation 1: No or low amplification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Observation2:No clusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Observation 3: Clusters too close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Observation 4: Too many clusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Observation 5: “Chicken-feet” clusters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
APPENDIX B PCR Good Laboratory Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Sample preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Preventing contamination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
False positives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Uracil-N glycosylase (UNG) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Prevention of PCR product carryover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Fluorescent contaminants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
APPENDIX C Chemistry Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
About two-step RT-PCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Basics of the 5’ nuclease assay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
About TaqMan® MGB Probes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
About AmpliTaq Gold® DNA Polymerase, (UP) Ultra Pure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
About uracil-N glycosylase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
About ROX passive reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
APPENDIX D Custom TaqMan® assay design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Identifying target sequence and amplicon size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Target template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Amplicon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
General amplicon site selection guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
If the gene does not contain introns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Probe and primer design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
General probe design guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
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TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Contents
General primer design guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Calculation of primer and probe concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Calculate oligonucleotide concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
An example calculation of primer concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
An example calculation of probe concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Determine optimal primer concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Primer concentrations to test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Prepare and run the real-time qPCRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Determine optimal probe concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Probe concentrations to test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Prepare and run the real-time qPCRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Evaluate the results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Performing routine analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
APPENDIX E Allelic discrimination probe/primer design . . . . . . . . . 55
Before you begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Identifying target sequence and amplicon size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Target template defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
General amplicon site selection guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Probe and primer design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
General probe design guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
General primer design guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Calculation of primer and probe concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Determine optimal primer concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Primer concentrations to test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Prepare and run the real-time qPCRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Determine optimal probe concentrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Probe concentration considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Performing routine analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Analyze the results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
APPENDIX F Ordering Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
How to order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Real-time PCR systems, PCR systems, and consumables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Gene expression assay and array products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Reverse transcription kits and reagents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Optional user-supplied reagents for gene expression quantitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Consumables and equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
APPENDIX G Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chemical safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Biological hazard safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Contents
Documentation and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Related documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Obtaining SDSs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Obtaining Certificates of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Obtaining support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Limited Product Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
7
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
About this guide
Revision history
Purpose of the guide
ThisuserguidedescribesthetwoprimaryapplicationsoftheTaqMan®UniversalPCR
MasterMix:quantitativeRTPCRandgenotyping.AlthoughTaqMan®UniversalPCR
MasterMixcanbeusedinabroadvarietyofPCRapplications,thisdocument
primarilydescribestheuseofthemastermixwithpreoptimizedTaqMan®assays.
Generalguidelinesareprovidedforthedesignandoptimizationofcustom
quantitationandallelicdiscrimination(genotyping)assays.
Becauseanalysismethodsvarygreatlybetweenapplications,thisuserguideprovides
generalguidelinesfortheanalysisofdatageneratedfromexperimentsthatuse
TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixandTaqMan®assays.Fordetailedinformation
aboutdataanalysisortheproceduresoutlinedinthisprotocol,consulttheappropriate
documentationforyourinstrument.
User attention words
Twouserattentionwordsmayappearinthisdocument.Eachwordimpliesa
particularlevelofobservationoractionasdescribedbelow:
Note: Providesinformationthatmaybeofinterestorhelpbutisnotcriticaltotheuse
oftheproduct.
IMPORTANT! Providesinformationthatisnecessaryforproperinstrumentoperation
oraccuratechemistrykituse.
Revision Date Description
E March 2014 Update to genotyping content to include:
•TaqMan
® SNP Genotyping PCR
•TaqMan
® Drug Metabolism PCR
Updated to current style and format.
D July 2010
8TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
About this guide
User attention words
1
9
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Product Information
Productdescription....................................................9
Kitcontentsandstorage ...............................................10
Compatiblerealtimeinstruments .......................................10
Materialsrequiredbutnotincluded.....................................11
Product description
TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixisaconvenientmixofcomponents(except
primers,probes,template,andwater)necessarytoperformarealtimepolymerase
chainreaction(PCR).TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixcanbeusedtoamplify
knownsequencesofgenomic,plasmid,orcomplementaryDNA(cDNA)targetsfora
varietyofapplications,includingquantitationandgenotyping.Themixisavailable
withorwithoutAmpErase®UNG.
ThisdocumentdescribestheuseoftheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixwith
preoptimized:
• TaqMan®GeneExpressionAssays
• TaqMan®MicroRNAAssays
• TaqMan®DrugMetabolismGenotypingAssays
• TaqMan®SNPGenotypingAssays
•CustomTaqMan®ProbesandSequenceDetectionPrimers
toamplifyyourDNAtargetofchoice.Guidelinesarealsoprovidedforthedesignand
optimizationofcustomprimersandTaqMan®probes.
InRNAquantitationassaystheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixisusedinthe
secondstepofa2stepreversetranscription–polymerasechainreaction(RTPCR)
protocol.ThecDNAtemplateusedwiththemastermixcanbegeneratedinareverse
transcriptionreactionusingkitsavailablefromLifeTechnologies.
10 TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter1 Product Information
Kit contents and storage
1
Kit contents and storage
TheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixissuppliedat2Xconcentrationandcontains:
•AmpliTaqGold®DNAPolymerase,UP(UltraPure)
•UracilNglycosylase(UNG)
•dNTPswithdUTP
•ROX
PassiveReference
•Optimizedbuffercomponents
Note: TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMix,noAmpErase®UNG,containsallthe
aboveingredientsexceptUNG.
TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMix,withornoAmpErase®UNG,issuppliedat2X
concentrationandisavailableinthefollowingvolumes:
Compatible real-time instruments
TheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMix,withorwithoutAmpErase®UNG,maybe
usedforrealtimeorplateread(endpoint)detectionofDNAorcDNA.Analysisis
performedusinganyofthefollowingrealtimePCRsystemsavailablefromLife
Technologies:
•StepOne
orStepOnePlusRealTimePCRSystem
•AppliedBiosystems®7300/7500/7500FastRealTimePCRSystem
•AppliedBiosystems®7900HT/7900HTFastRealTimePCRSystem
•AppliedBiosystems®ViiA7RealTimePCRSystem
• QuantStudio6FlexRealTimePCRSystem
• QuantStudio7FlexRealTimePCRSystem
• QuantStudio12kFlexSystem
Master Mix Catalog Number Quantity
# of reactions
Storage
20–µL 50-µL
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix 4304437, 1–Pack 1 × 5 mL 500 200 2°C to 8°C.
4364338, 2–Pack 2 × 5 mL 1000 400
4364340, 5–Pack 5 × 5 mL 2500 1000
4305719, 10–Pack 10 × 5 mL 5000 2000
4318157, 10 Unit Pack 10 × 5 mL 5000 2000
4326708, 1 Bulk Pack 1 × 50 mL 5000 2000
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix,
No AmpErase® UNG
4324018, 1–Pack 1 × 5 mL 500 200 2°C to 8°C.
4364341, 2–Pack 2 × 5 mL 1000 400
4364343, 5–Pack 5 × 5 mL 2500 1000
4324020, 10 Unit Pack 10 × 5 mL 5000 2000
4326614, 1 Bulk Pack 1 × 50 mL 5000 2000
11
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter1 Product Information
Materials required but not included 1
Fast instruments
and thermal
cycling conditions
IMPORTANT! UseTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixwithStandardmodethermal
cyclingconditionsonly.TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixisnotsupportedforuse
withFastModethermalcyclingconditions.WhenusingTaqMan®UniversalPCR
MasterMixontheStepOne,StepOnePlus,7500Fast,7900HTFast,ViiA7Fast96
well,orQuantStudioFast96wellinstruments,useStandardmodethermalcycling
conditions.IfyouuseassaysotherthantheTaqMan®assays,orusethermalcycling
conditionsotherthanthosespecifiedinthisprotocol,validateyourassaysandre
optimizeyourthermalcyclingconditionsasneeded.
Materials required but not included
Beforehandlinganychemicals,refertotheSDSprovidedbythemanufacturer,and
observeallrelevantprecautions.
Materials Catalog no.
High Capacity RNA-to-cDNA Kit, 50 rxns 4387406
SuperScript® VILO cDNA
Synthesis Kit
50 reactions 11754050
250 reactions 11754250
RNase inhibitor N8080119
TaqMan® Gene Expression Assays, inventoried 4331182
TaqMan® Gene Expression Assays, made-to-order 4351372
Custom TaqMan® Gene
Expression Assays
Small-scale (20X, 144 × 50-µL rxns) 4331348
Medium-scale (20X, 300 × 50-µL rxns) 4332078
Large-scale (60X, 1160 × 50-µL rxns) 4332079
TaqMan® SNP Genotyping
Assays
Small-scale (40X, 300 × 25-µL rxns) 4351379
Custom TaqMan® SNP
Genotyping Assays
Small-scale (40X, 300 × 25-µL rxns) 4331349
TaqMan® Drug Metabolism
Genotyping Assays
Small-scale (20X, 150 × 25-µL rxns) 4362691
TaqMan® PreAmp Master Mix Kit, 40 rxns 4384267
Tris-EDTA (TE) buffer (10 mM Tris-HCl, 1 mM EDTA, pH 8.0,
made using DNase-free, RNase-free sterile-filtered water)
AM9849
DNAZap Solution, two, 250-mL bottles AM9890
RT-PCR Grade Water, ten, 1.75-mL bottles AM9935
DNase-free water AM9914G
12 TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter1 Product Information
Materials required but not included
1
2
13
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Gene expression quantitation
Thischapterprovidesaprotocolforperforming2stepreversetranscription
polymerasechainreaction(RTPCR)usingTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixwith
TaqMan®GeneExpressionAssays,CustomTaqMan®GeneExpressionAssays,or
CustomTaqMan®ProbesandSequenceDetectionPrimers.
Reversetranscription ..................................................13
RealtimePCRamplification............................................14
Setupplatedocumentorexperiment ....................................15
PrepareandrunthePCRreactionplate..................................16
Reverse transcription
SynthesisofsinglestrandedcDNAfromRNAisthefirststepinthetwostepRTPCR
process,whichrequiresyouto:
1. Preparethereversetranscription(RT)reactionmix.
2. PreparetheRTreactionplate.
3. Performreversetranscription.
ToobtaincDNAfromRNAsampleswerecommendusingaLifeTechnologiesreverse
transcriptionkit.
ForadditionalRTguidelinesandinstructions,refertotheappropriateprotocol.You
candownloadtheprotocolsforLifeTechnologieskitsat:www.lifetechnologies.com.
Note: Foradditionaldocumentation,see“Obtainingsupport”onpage70.
RNA template
guidelines
ThequalityofyourresultsisdirectlyrelatedtothepurityofyourRNAtemplate.For
optimalperformanceuseRNAthatis:
•FreeofinhibitorsofreversetranscriptionandPCR.
• DissolvedinTEbufferorPCRcompatiblebuffer.
•FreeofRNaseactivity.
•FreeofgenomicDNAcontamination.
Reagent and
sample
preparation
guidelines
Toensureoptimalperformance:
•UsenucleasefreepipettipsandreagentstominimizedegradationoftheRNA.
•ObservestandardlaboratorypracticeswhenhandlingRNA.
14 TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter2 Gene expression quantitation
Real-time PCR amplification
2
Real-time PCR amplification
TargetamplificationusingcDNAasthetemplateisthesecondstepintheRTPCR
process.Inthisstep,theDNApolymerase(fromtheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMaster
Mix)amplifiestargetcDNAsynthesizedfromtheRNAsample,usingsequence
specificprimersandaTaqMan®probe(forexample,aprobefromtheTaqMan®Gene
ExpressionAssaymix).
IMPORTANT! YoumustperformthePCRsteponarealtimePCRsystem.Traditional
thermalcyclerscannotbeusedbecausetheycannotdetectandrecordthefluorescent
signalsgeneratedbythecleavageofTaqMan®probes.
Note: IfyouchoosetouseCustomTaqMan®ProbesandSequenceDetectionPrimers,
ratherthanaTaqMan®GeneExpressionAssayoraCustomTaqMan®Gene
ExpressionAssay,see“CustomTaqMan®assaydesign”onpage 47formore
information.
PCR reagent
handling and
preparation
FollowingtheseguidelinesensuresoptimalPCRperformance:
•KeeptheTaqMan®assaysinthefreezer,awayfromlight,untilyouarereadyto
usethem.Excessiveexposuretolightmayaffectthefluorescentprobes.
•Priortouse:
–MixtheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixthoroughlybyswirlingthe
bottle.
–ThawfrozenTaqMan®assaysbyplacingthemonice.Whenthawed,
resuspendthesamplesbyvortexing,thenbrieflycentrifugetocollect.
–Thawfrozensamplesbyplacingthemonice.Whenthawed,resuspendthe
samplesbybrieflyvortexingandthencentrifugethetubestocollect.
Determine the
number of required
reactions
Determinethenumberofreactionstoperformforeachassay.Werecommend
performingfourreplicatesofeachreaction.Include10%extravolumetocompensate
forthevolumelossthatoccursduringpipetting.Forexample,ifusinga96wellplate,
prepareenoughreactionmixforapproximately106 reactions.
Besuretoincludeoneachplate:
•AgeneexpressionassayforeachcDNAsample.
• Endogenouscontrolassays.
•Notemplatecontrols(NTCs)foreachassayontheplate.
IMPORTANT! Youcanrunmultipleassaysononereactionplate.Includecontrolsfor
eachassaythatyourunonaplate.
15
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter2 Gene expression quantitation
Real-time PCR amplification 2
Set up plate
document or
experiment
Refertoyourinstrumentuserguideforinstructionsonhowtoconfiguretheplate
documentorexperiment.See“Obtainingsupport”onpage 70toobtainuser
documentationforLifeTechnologiesrealtimePCRsystems.
Whencreatingplatedocuments/experiments,usethefollowingparameters:
•ThermalCyclingParameters:
IMPORTANT! Omitthe2minute,50°CstepifyouareusingTaqMan®Universal
PCRMasterMix,noAmpErase®UNG.
•RunMode:Standardmode
•SampleVolume:
•AutoIncrementSettings:Acceptdefaultvalues(defaultis0)
• DataCollection:Acceptdefaultvalues(defaultis60°C)
• RampRateSettings:Acceptdefaultvalues(defaultisStandard)
IMPORTANT! TaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixisnotsupportedforusewithFast
Modethermalcyclingconditions.WhenusingTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMixon
theStepOne,StepOnePlus,7500Fast,7900HTFast,ViiA7Fast96well,or
QuantStudioFast96wellinstruments,useStandardmodethermalcyclingconditions.
Parameter UNG
incubation
Required for optimal UNG activity. If using TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix, no AmpErase®
UNG, this step is not necessary.
Polymerase
activation
Required to activate the DNA Polymerase.
PCR
(40 cycles)
Hold Hold Denature Anneal/extend
Temperature 50°C 95°C 95°C 60°C
Time (mm:ss) 02:00 10:00 00:15 01:00
Plate format Reaction volume (µL)
MicroAmp® Optical 96-Well Reaction Plate 20–50
MicroAmp® Optical 384-Well Reaction Plate 10–20
16 TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter2 Gene expression quantitation
Real-time PCR amplification
2
Prepare and run
the PCR reaction
plate
1. Preparethereactionmixforeachsampleusingthecomponentslistedbelow.
•CalculatethevolumeofeachcomponentofthePCRreactionmixby
multiplyingthevolumeofeachcomponentbythenumberofreplicatesfor
eachsample.
•Werecommendperformingfourtechnicalreplicatesofeachreaction.Select
thereactionsizedependingonthereactionplateused.Prepare110%ofthe
requiredvolumetoaccountforpipettingerror.
IMPORTANT! ForoptimalperformanceofTaqMan®GeneExpressionAssays,use
1–100 ngofcDNAper20‐or50‐μL reaction.
2. Capthetube(s)andvortexbrieflytomixthesolutions.
3. Centrifugethetube(s)brieflytospindownthecontentsandeliminateanyair
bubblesfromthesolutions.
4. Transfertheappropriatevolumeofeachreactionmixturetoeachwellofan
opticalreactionplate.
5. CovertheplatewithaMicroAmp®OpticalAdhesiveFilm.Forstandard96well
plates,youmayuseMicroAmp®OpticalCaps.
6. Centrifugetheplatebrieflytospindownthecontentsandeliminateairbubbles
fromthesolutions.
7. ApplyacompressionpadtotheplateifrequiredbyyourrealtimePCRsystem.
8. Inthesystemsoftware,opentheplatedocumentorexperimentthatcorresponds
tothereactionplate.
9. LoadthereactionplateintotherealtimePCRsystem.
10. Starttherun.
Component
Volume (µL)
per reaction
Final conc.
50-µL
rxns.
20-µL
rxns.
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix (2X) 25.0 10.0 1X
TaqMan® Gene Expression Assay (20X)
†See www.LifeTechnologies.com for TaqMan® Gene Expression Assay information.
2.5 1.0 1X
cDNA template + H2O
Use 1–100 ng of cDNA plus RNase-free water.
22.5 9.0 1–100 ng
Total Volume 50.0 20.0
3
17
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Data Analysis
Thischapterprovidesgeneralguidelinesforanalyzingdataobtainedfromgene
expressionassays.
Automaticcalculationofthebaselineandthreshold.......................18
Manualsettingofthebaselineandthreshold .............................19
Analyzethedata ......................................................20
QuantitationofcDNArelativetoacalibratorsample ......................20
Overview
Dataanalysisvariesdependingontheproduct,assayandrealtimePCRsystemused.
RefertotheappropriatePCRinstrumentuserguidefordetailedanalysisinstructions.
See“DocumentationandSupportonpage69formoreinformation.
Thegeneralprocessforanalyzinggeneexpressiondatainvolves:
1. ViewingtheamplificationplotsfortheentirePCRreactionplate.
2. Settingthebaselineandthresholdvaluestodeterminethethresholdcycles(CT)
fortheamplificationcurves.
3. UsingtherelativestandardcurvemethodorthecomparativeCTmethodto
analyzethedata.
Baseline and
threshold values
WhenusingarealtimePCRsystem,youcanusethesoftwaretosetthebaselineand
thresholdfortheamplificationcurveseitherautomaticallyormanually.
•ThebaselinereferstotheinitialcyclesofPCRinwhichthereisslightchangein
fluorescencesignal.
•TheintersectionofthethresholdwiththeamplificationplotdefinestheCTinreal
timePCRassays.Thethresholdissetabovethebackgroundandwithinthe
exponentialgrowthphaseoftheamplificationcurve.
18 TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter3 Data Analysis
Overview
3
Normalization ThePassiveReferenceisadyeincludedintheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMasterMix
anddoesnotparticipateinthenucleasePCR.ThePassiveReferenceprovidesan
internalreferencetowhichthereporterdyesignalcanbenormalizedduringdata
analysis.Normalizationisnecessarytocorrectforfluorescentfluctuationsdueto
changesinconcentrationorvolume.
Rn and ΔRn values Normalizationisaccomplishedbydividingtheemissionintensityofthereporterdye
bytheemissionintensityofthePassiveReferencetoobtainaratiodefinedastheRn
(normalizedreporter)foragivenreactiontube.
Rn+istheRnvalueofareactioncontainingallcomponentsincludingthetemplate.
RnistheRnvalueofanunreactedsample.Thisvaluemaybeobtainedfromtheearly
cyclesofarealtimerun,thosecyclespriortoadetectableincreaseinfluorescence.
Thisvaluemayalsobeobtainedfromareactionnotcontainingtemplate.
ΔRnisthedifferencebetweentheRn+valueandtheRnvalue.Itreliablyindicatesthe
magnitudeofthesignalgeneratedbythegivensetofPCRconditions.
Thefollowingequationexpressestherelationshipoftheseterms:
ΔRn=(Rn+)(Rn)
where:
Automatic
calculation of the
baseline and
threshold
Thesystemsoftwarecalculatesbaselineandthresholdvaluesforadetectorbasedon
theassumptionthatthedataexhibitthe“typical”amplificationcurveshownbelow.
Experimentalerror(suchascontaminationorpipettingerrors)canproduceatypical
datathatcancausethesoftwarealgorithmtogenerateincorrectbaselineandthreshold
valuesfortheassociateddetector.
IMPORTANT!Afterananalysis,verifythatthebaselineandthresholdwerecalled
correctlyforeachwellbyviewingtheresultingamplificationplots,andadjustthe
valuesmanuallyifnecessary.
Rn+ = Emission Intensity of Reporter PCR with template
Emission Intensity of Passive Reference
Rn = Emission Intensity of Reporter PCR without template or early
cycles of a real-time reaction
Emission Intensity of Passive Reference
a
Rn
a. Plateau phase
b. Linear phase
c. Exponential
(geometric)
phase
d. Background
e. Baseline
b
c
d
e
Threshold
19
TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter3 Data Analysis
Overview 3
Manual setting of
the baseline and
threshold
Ifyouusethesystemsoftwaretosetthebaselineandthresholdvaluesmanuallyfor
anydetector/assayinthestudy,performanadjustmentprocedureforeachdetector/
assay.RefertoyourrealtimePCRsystemdocumentationforguidanceonmanually
settingandadjustingyourthresholdandbaseline.
Correct and incorrect threshold settings
Threshold set correctly
The threshold is set in the exponential phase of the
amplification curve. Threshold settings above or below
the optimum increase the standard deviation of the
replicate groups.
Threshold set too low
The threshold is set below the exponential phase of the
amplification curve. The standard deviation is
significantly higher than that for a plot where the
threshold is set correctly. Set the threshold up into the
exponential phase of the curve.
Threshold set too high
The threshold is set above the exponential phase of the
amplification curve. The standard deviation is
significantly higher than that for a plot where the
threshold is set correctly. Set the threshold down into
the exponential phase of the curve.
20 TaqMan® Universal PCR Master Mix User Guide
Chapter3 Data Analysis
Overview
3
Analyze the data YoucanperformtwotypesofquantitationusingtheTaqMan®UniversalPCRMaster
Mix:
•Relativequantitationcomparestherelativeexpressionofatargetgenebetween
anunknownandareferencesample.Youcanperformrelativequantitationusing
thestandardcurvemethodorthecomparativeCTmethod.
•AbsolutequantitationcomparestheCTofanunknownsampleagainstastandard
curvewithknowncopynumbers.
Quantitation of
cDNA relative to a
calibrator sample
Geneexpressioncanbemeasuredbycomparingtherelativeexpressionofatarget
geneinaunknownsampleandinaphysiologicalreferencesample.Inatypical
experiment,geneexpressionlevelsarestudiedasafunctionofeitheratreatmentof
cellsinculture,ofpatients,oroftissuetype.Thecalibratorsampleineachcaseisthe
cDNAfromeithertheuntreatedcellsorpatients,oraspecifictissuetype.
AllquantitationsarealsonormalizedtoanendogenouscontrolsuchasGAPDHto
accountforvariabilityintheinitialconcentrationandqualityofthetotalRNAandin
theconversionefficiencyofthereversetranscriptionreaction.Allampliconsinthese
determinationsshouldfollowthePrimerExpress®Softwareamplicondesigncriteria.
Correct and incorrect baseline settings
Baseline set correctly
The amplification curve begins after the maximum
baseline.
Baseline set too low
The amplification curve begins too far to the right of the
maximum baseline. Increase the End Cycle value.
Baseline set too high
The amplification curve begins before the maximum
baseline. Decrease the End Cycle value.
/