Lolium temulentum L. (Darnel ryegrass) is a valuable model grass species for the study of stress in forage and turf grasses. Gene expression analysis by quantitative real-time RT-PCR relies on the use of proper internal standards. The aim of this studywas to identify and evaluate reference genes for use in real-time quantitative RT-PCR for abiotic stress studies in L. temulentum. Partial sequen...

PURPOSE Molecular analysis of melanoma sentinel nodes (SN) is sensitive, but poorly specific because metastases cannot be distinguished from benign nevus inclusions (BNI). We investigated whether quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) detection of MART-1 and tyrosinase mRNAs could improve this specificity and contribute to SN assessment. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN Two hundred twenty SNs fro...

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 tr...