Why are reporting guidelines so essential?

Why are reporting guidelines so essential?

» by LGC

We’ve all probably heard the Chinese proverb that it’s not the destination that is important but the journey. Well the same can be said of scientific research: it’s not only the results that matter but the methodology and processes that lead us to them.

OK, so this may be a little facetious but the concept is not and it’s the reason why guidelines for the reporting of scientific experiments have been emerging over the past decade across scientific disciplines – including the Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments (MIQE) guidelines.

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) is a technique widely used in molecular biology to identify and quantify DNA. PCR works by targeted amplification of DNA by several orders of magnitude to enable identification and measurement of specific sequences. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), also called real-time polymerase chain reaction, is a laboratory technique based on the PCR, which is used to amplify and simultaneously quantify a targeted DNA molecule.

In order to encourage increased transparency in reported data, the MIQE guidelines were developed and published in 2009. But why is this so important and, five years later, what impact have the guidelines had?

NEW -- Android MIQE APP for qPCR and dPCR -- NEW

NEW -- Android MIQE APP for qPCR and dPCR -- NEW
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.biorad.miqeqPCR
Get help from a special team of experts in qPCR while on the move. MIQE - qPCR helps you in reviewing scientific works and checking your own experiments, when qPCR is involved. Check your project's compliancy to MIQE in minutes, have all required references in hands, and follow qPCR events and news.
· The qPCR turns digital, so does this app. All new checklists, references dedicated to ddPCR are included! 
· Now MIQE qPCR app is even more interactive. For the first time ever, checklists are optimized in real time: you can reach 100% for every project if you are MIQE compliant. 
· Checklists are specific for each project type: just click on the kind of nucleic acid you are working with, the checklists adapts instantly by removing unnecessary items (Reverse transcription items are not relevant if working only on DNA for instance). 
· Moreover, some items may not apply to your specific experiments. You can now remove them and have the most accurate MIQE compliancy. 
· References have been updated, so you can keep in touch with latest MIQE related literature, symposium updates and more. 
· Last but not least: Export is available. You can archive the state of your project whenever you want, share it with your colleagues, and store it.

qPCR & NGS 2015 Event -- Advanced Molecular Diagnostics for Biomarker Discovery

qPCR & NGS 2015 Event -- Advanced Molecular Diagnostics for Biomarker Discovery
7th international qPCR & NGS Event
Symposium  &  Industrial Exhibition  &  Application Workshops 
23-27 March 2015, in Freising-Weihenstephan
Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephan, Germany
http://www.qPCR-NGS-2015.net
Event location on Google maps  http://goo.gl/maps/3p3gx
download flyer http://event-announcement.qpcr-ngs-2015.net

Central topic:   Advanced Molecular Diagnostics for Biomarker Discovery

Symposium Talk & Poster Sessions:
• Main topic:   Advanced Molecular Diagnostics
• Main topic:   Biomarker Discovery
• Main topic:   Next Generation Sequencing (NGS)
- NGS overview talks - information technology in the era of NGS
- Pre NGS - sample prep & setup & library generation
- NGS – new sequencing technologies (e.g. single molecule and pore sequencing)
- NGS – data analysis, data management, mapping, alignment algorithms, data de novo assembly
- NGS – diagnostic applications

• MicroGenomics & Single-cells diagnostics
• Circulating Nucleic Acids
• Molecular Diagnostics in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine & Environmental Science
• MIQE & QM & Standardisation strategies in molecular diagnostics
• Digital PCR  &  Nano-fluidics
• Non-coding RNAs -- microRNA, small RNAs, long non-coding RNAs
• qPCR Data Analysis -- BioStatistics & BioInformatics

qPCR -- In-depth focus 2014 - Free download

qPCR: In-depth focus 2014 - Free download

Our qPCR in-depth focus is supported by Eurogentec, TwistDx,pluriSelect, Affymetrix and Gilson:

• Prime time for qPCR – raising the quality bar
  Mikael Kubista, TATAA Biocenter, SwedenQuantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, better known as qPCR, is the most sensitive and specific technique we have for the detection of nucleic acids. Even though it has been around for more than 30 years and is preferred in research applications, it has still to win broad acceptance in routine. Main hurdles are the lack of guidelines, standards, quality controls, and even proper methods to evaluate the diagnostic results. This is now rapidly changing.
• PCR to diagnose infectious disease
  Theo P. Sloots and Michael D. Nissen, Queensland Children’s Medical Research Institute, AustraliaEffective clinical management and treatment of patients with infectious disease relies on the rapid and accurate identification of the causative agent. Yet, until recently, diagnosticians used relatively insensitive methods to detect the infectious agent in clinical specimens, namely microscopy, histology, isolation and culture of pathogens and by measuring the serologic response of the host.
• qPCR Roundtable
  Moderated by Prof. Dr. Michael W. Pfaffl, Department of Physiology, Life Science Centre Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich

Evaluation of quantitative miRNA expression platforms in the microRNA quality control (miRQC) study

Evaluation of quantitative miRNA expression platforms in the microRNA quality control (miRQC) study
Pieter Mestdagh, Nicole Hartmann, Lukas Baeriswyl, Ditte Andreasen, Nathalie Bernard, Caifu Chen, David Cheo, Petula D'Andrade, Mike DeMayo, Lucas Dennis, Stefaan Derveaux, Yun Feng, Stephanie Fulmer-Smentek, Bernhard Gerstmayer, Julia Gouffon, Chris Grimley, Eric Lader, Kathy Y Lee, Shujun Luo, Peter Mouritzen, Aishwarya Narayanan, Sunali Patel, Sabine Peiffer, Silvia Rüberg, Gary Schroth, Dave Schuster, Jonathan M Shaffer, Elliot J Shelton, Scott Silveria, Umberto Ulmanella, Vamsi Veeramachaneni, Frank Staedtler, Thomas Peters, Toumy Guettouche & Jo Vandesompele Show fewer authors
Nature Methods (2014) doi:10.1038/nmeth.3014
http://www.nature.com/nmeth/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nmeth.3014.html

MicroRNAs are important negative regulators of protein-coding gene expression and have been studied intensively over the past years. Several measurement platforms have been developed to determine relative miRNA abundance in biological samples using different technologies such as small RNA sequencing, reverse transcription–quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and (microarray) hybridization. In this study, we systematically compared 12 commercially available platforms for analysis of microRNA expression. We measured an identical set of 20 standardized positive and negative control samples, including human universal reference RNA, human brain RNA and titrations thereof, human serum samples and synthetic spikes from microRNA family members with varying homology. We developed robust quality metrics to objectively assess platform performance in terms of reproducibility, sensitivity, accuracy, specificity and concordance of differential expression. The results indicate that each method has its strengths and weaknesses, which help to guide informed selection of a quantitative microRNA gene expression platform for particular study goals.

More paper on microRNA and mRNA quality => http://rna-integrity.gene-quantification.info