Using ΦX174 DNA as an exogenous reference for measuring mitochondrial DNA copy number

• Published in: BioTechniques Vol. 47; no. 4; pp. 867 - 869
• Main Authors: Myers, Meagan B, Mittelstaedt, Roberta A, Heflich, Robert H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Natick, MA Future Science Ltd 01.10.2009; Eaton; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Diverse techniques; DNA extraction; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; mitochondrial DNA copy number; Molecular and cellular biology; quantitative PCR; ΦX174 DNA; Exogenous; Mitochondrial DNA; Copy number; Reference

Quantitative real-time PCR has become a popular method to analyze and quantify changes in the copy number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and nuclear DNA (nDNA) is often used as an endogenous reference for mtDNA abundance. In our experience, using nDNA as a reference is problematic, due to differences...