GeneRacer™ Kit with AMV RT and TOPO TA Cloning™ Kit for Sequencing
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Invitrogen™

GeneRacer™ Kit with AMV RT and TOPO TA Cloning™ Kit for Sequencing

GeneRacer™ is an advanced RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) technique that improves the efficiency of amplifying full-length 5´ andRead more
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Catalog number L150001
Price (USD)
1,050.00
Each
Add to cart
Price (USD)
1,050.00
Each
Add to cart
GeneRacer™ is an advanced RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends) technique that improves the efficiency of amplifying full-length 5´ and 3´ cDNA ends. With the GeneRacer™ Kit you can:

• Generate cDNA from transcripts up to 10 kb in length
• Obtain the full-length 5´ end of rare transcripts at fewer than 30 copies per cell
• Clone the full-length 5´ and 3´ ends to construct complete cDNA sequence

The GeneRacer™ Kit is available with SuperScript™ III Reverse Transcriptase (RT) for improved amplification of the full-length 5´ end from long and complex mRNA. The RNase H portion of SuperScript™ III RT has been mutated to avoid cleaving mRNA during cDNA synthesis. This increases the size and yield of cDNA. SuperScript™ III RT is more thermostable than wild-type RTs. This enables reverse transcription at higher temperatures, relaxing secondary structure of complex templates, and allowing cDNA synthesis to go to completion.

How GeneRacer™ Works

The GeneRacer™ Kit ensures that only transcripts containing full-length cDNA ends are amplified (1,2). Figure 1 outlines how the GeneRacer™ Kit works. The advanced protocol starts at the RNA level by specifically targeting only 5´ capped mRNA. In subsequent steps the cap is removed and replaced with the GeneRacer™ RNA Oligo. During reverse transcription, the GeneRacer™ RNA Oligo sequence is incorporated into the cDNA. Only cDNA that is completely reverse transcribed will contain this known sequence. 5´ RACE PCR is then performed using the GeneRacer™ 5´ Primer specific to the GeneRacer™ RNA Oligo sequence and a gene-specific primer. The result is amplified DNA that contains the full-length 5´ cDNA sequence.

Sensitivity and Length

To demonstrate the ability of the GeneRacer™ Kit to capture the full-length 5fi cDNA end, the 5fi ends of genes with known transcriptional start sites were amplified. Starting with total RNA and following the GeneRacer™ protocol, both long transcripts (10 kb) and rare messages present at 0.01%, or 30 copies per cell were amplified (Figure 2).
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Specifications
Bacterial or Yeast StrainTOP10
Cloning MethodTOPO TA
FormatKit
For Use With (Application)Reverse Transcription
IncludesEach GeneRacer Kit contains the GeneRacer box, an RT box, S.N.A.P. columns, and a TOPO Cloning Kit. The GeneRacer and the RT box contain sufficient reagents for five cDNA reactions plus one control reaction and primers for 50 PCR reactions. Included in the GeneRacer box are the enzymes CIP, TAP, T4 RNA ligase, and their buffers, the GeneRacer RNA Oligo (pre-aliquotted and lyophilized), GeneRacer Primers and Nested Primers, RNaseOUT Recombinant Ribonuclease Inhibitor, phenol/chloroform, mussel glycogen, sterile water, and controls. Store at -20°C. The SuperScript III RT box includes SuperScript III RT, 5X first-strand buffer, DTT, RNase H, random primers, the GeneRacer Oligo dT Primer, and dNTP mix. Store at -20°C. The Cloned AMV RT box includes cloned AMV RT, 5X RT buffer, random primers, the GeneRacer Oligo dT Primer, and dNTP mix.
Product LineGeneRacer™, TA Cloning™, TOPO™
Product TypeCloning Kit
Quantity1 Kit
VectorpCR4-TOPO TA
Unit SizeEach
Contents & Storage
Each GeneRacer™ Kit contains the GeneRacer™ box, an RT box, S.N.A.P.™ columns, and a TOPO™ Cloning Kit. The GeneRacer™ and the RT box contain sufficient reagents for five cDNA reactions plus one control reaction and primers for 50 PCR reactions. Included in the GeneRacer™ box are the enzymes CIP, TAP, T4 RNA ligase, and their buffers, the GeneRacer™ RNA Oligo (pre-aliquotted and lyophilized), GeneRacer™ Primers and Nested Primers, RNaseOUT™ Recombinant Ribonuclease Inhibitor, phenol/chloroform, mussel glycogen, sterile water, and controls. Store at -20°C. The SuperScript™ III RT box includes SuperScript™ III RT, 5X first-strand buffer, DTT, RNase H, random primers, the GeneRacer™ Oligo dT Primer, and dNTP mix. Store at -20°C. The Cloned AMV RT box includes cloned AMV RT, 5X RT buffer, random primers, the GeneRacer™ Oligo dT Primer, and dNTP mix. Store at -80°C. A separate bag contains ten S.N.A.P.™ gel purification columns for gel-purifying PCR products. Store at room temperature. The 10-reaction TOPO™ Cloning Kit for Sequencing contains two boxes. Store the TOPO™ Cloning box at -20°C. Store the competent E. coli box at -70°C. All reagents are guaranteed stable for 6 months when properly stored.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How long can I store the cDNA from my reverse transcription step?

You can store your cDNA at 2-6 degrees C for up to 24 hours. For long-term storage, store the cDNA at -15 to -25 degrees C and add EDTA to a final concentration of 1 mM to prevent degradation.

I'm getting PCR products from my 5' RACE, but they are not full length. What should I do?

The GeneRacer method is designed to ensure that only full-length messages are ligated to the GeneRacer RNA Oligo and PCR amplified after cDNA synthesis. It is highly recommended that you clone your RACE products and analyze at least 10-12 colonies to ensure that you isolate the longest message. Many genes do not have only one set of transcription start sites but rather multiple transcription start sites spanning sometimes just a few or other times a hundred or even more bases. Cloning of the RACE products and analyzing multiple colonies ensues that you detect the diversity of the heterogeneous transcription start sites of your gene. It is also possible that you might obtain PCR products that may not represent the full-length message for your gene. PCR products that do not represent full-length message may be obtained because:

-RNA degradation after the CIP reaction creates new truncated substrates with a 5' phosphate for ligation to the GeneRacer RNA Oligo. Be sure to take precautions to ensure that the RNA is not degraded.
-CIP dephosphorylation was incomplete. Increase the amount of CIP in the reaction or decrease the amount of RNA.
-PCR yielded a PCR artifact and not true ligation product. Optimize your PCR using the suggestions described above.

I'm seeing RACE PCR artifacts in my GeneRacer experiment. What am I doing wrong?

RACE PCR artifacts or nonspecific PCR bands can result from one or more of the following:

-Nonspecific binding of GSPs to other cDNAs resulting in the amplification of unrelated products as well as desired products.
-Nonspecific binding of GeneRacer primers to cDNA resulting in PCR products with GeneRacer primer sequence on both ends of the PCR product.
-RNA degradation.
-Contamination of PCR tubes or reagents.
Note: Artifacts usually result from less than optimal PCR conditions and can be identified in negative control PCR.

I'm getting unexpected bands after electrophoretic analysis of my amplified RT-PCR products. Can you please offer some suggestions?

Please see the following causes and suggestions:
Contamination by genomic DNA or an unexpected splice variant - Pretreat RNA with DNase I, amplification grade (Cat. No 18068015).
Design primers that anneal to sequences in exons on both sides of an intron or at the exon/exon boundary of the mRNA to differentiate between amplified cDNA and potential contaminating genomic DNA.
To test if products were derived from DNA, perform a minus RT control.
Nonspecific annealing of primers - Vary the PCR annealing conditions.
Use a hot-start PCR polymerase.
Optimize magnesium concentration for each template and primer combination.
Primers formed dimers - Design primers without complementary sequences at the 3' ends.

I'm getting no bands after electrophoretic analysis of my amplified RT-PCR products. Can you please offer some tips?

Please see the following causes and suggestions:

Procedural error in first-strand cDNA synthesis - Use high-quality RNA as a control to verify the efficiency of the first-strand reaction.
RNase contamination - Add control RNA to sample to determine if RNase is present in the first-strand reaction. Use an RNase inhibitor in the first-strand reaction.
Polysaccharide co-precipitation of RNA - Precipitate RNA with lithium chloride to remove polysaccharides, as described in Sambrook et al.
Target mRNA contains strong transcriptional pauses - Use random hexamers instead of oligo(dT) in the first-strand reaction, increase the temperature, and use PCR primers closer to the 3' terminus of the target cDNA.
Too little first-strand product was used in PCR - Use up to 10% of first-strand reaction per 50 mL PCR.
Gene-specific primer was used for first-strand synthesis - Try another set of GSP or switch to oligo(dT). Make sure the GSP is the antisense of the sequence.
Inhibitors of RT present - Remove inhibitors by ethanol precipitation of mRNA preparation before the first-strand reaction. Include a 70% (v/v) ethanol wash of the mRNA pellet. Note: inhibitors of RT include SDS, EDTA, guanidinium salts, formamide, sodium pyrophosphate, and spermidine.
RNA has been damaged or degraded - Ensure that high-quality, intact RNA is being used.
Annealing temperature is too high - Decrease temperature as necessary and/or use touchdown PCR.