Platinum® Quantitative RT-PCR ThermoScript™ One-Step System (1) is ideal for real-time quantitation of RNA molecules from total or poly(A)⁺ RNA in a single step. ThermoScript™ RT, a cloned avian reverse transcriptase, has been engineered to have reduced RNase H activity and high thermal stability (up to 70°C) to copy RNA with secondary structure and improve specificity of priming. Specificity and amplification efficiency are further enhanced through the use of Platinum® Taq DNA polymerase (3). The system can be used to quantitate the amount of specific mRNA from small numbers of cells (Figure 1). The Platinum® Quantitative RT-PCR ThermoScript™ One-Step System:

• Is optimized to provide maximal performance with fluorescent detection chemistries employed in real-time quantitative PCR

• Provides reduced RNase H activity for greater first-strand cDNA yield

• Takes place sequentially in a single tube, under conditions optimal for both ThermoScript™ RT and Platinum® Taq DNA polymerase

• Reduces reaction-to-reaction variability for improved precision in quantitative RT-PCR

• Detects as little as 10 molecules of RNA template

• Allows precise quantification of mRNA(s) from 0.1 pg to 1 µg of total RNA