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Talking the talk, but not walking the walk: RT-qPCR as a paradigm for the lack of reproducibility in molecular research

journal contribution
posted on 2023-07-26, 14:43 authored by Stephen A. Bustin, Tania Nolan
Poorly executed and inadequately reported molecular measurement methods are amongst the causes underlying the lack of reproducibility of much biomedical research. Although several high impact factor journals have acknowledged their past failure to scrutinise adequately the technical soundness of manuscripts, there is a perplexing reluctance to implement basic corrective measures. The reverse transcription real‐time quantitative PCR (RT‐qPCR) is probably the most straightforward measurement technique available for RNA quantification and is widely used in research, diagnostic, forensic and biotechnology applications. Despite the impact of the minimum information for the publication of quantitative PCR experiments (MIQE) guidelines, which aim to improve the robustness and the transparency of reporting of RT‐qPCR data, we demonstrate that elementary protocol errors, inappropriate data analysis and inadequate reporting continue to be rife and conclude that the majority of published RT‐qPCR data are likely to represent technical noise.

History

Refereed

  • Yes

Volume

47

Issue number

10

Page range

756-774

Publication title

European Journal of Clinical Investigation

ISSN

1365-2362

Publisher

Wiley

Language

  • other

Legacy posted date

2019-08-28

Legacy Faculty/School/Department

ARCHIVED Faculty of Medical Science (until September 2018)

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