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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #188746
Title: PROPOSED METHODS FOR TESTING AND SELECTING THE ERCC EXTERNAL RNA CONTROLS

Author
item MEMBERS OF ERCC - EXTERNAL RNA CONTRL CONSO
item Liu, Zonglin

Submitted to: BMC Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/2/2005
Publication Date: 11/2/2005
Citation: Liu, Z., Members of ERCC. 2005. Proposed methods for testing and selecting the ERCC external RNA controls. Biomed Central (BMC) Genomics. 6:150.

Interpretive Summary: The External RNA Control Consortium (ERCC) is an ad-hoc group with approximately 70 members from private, public, and academic organizations. The ERCC is intended to develop a set of external RNA control transcripts that can be used to assess technical performance in gene expression assays. This document describes the proposed experiments and informatics process that will be followed to authoritatively test and qualify individual controls. USDA-ARS is a member of ERCC represented by an NCAUR research scientist serving as a member of workshop planning committee, and paper writing group. This publication impacts gene expression community and seeks consensus to confirm the value of the final products of the quality controls.

Technical Abstract: The External RNA Control Consortium (ERCC) is an ad-hoc group with approximately 70 members from private, public, and academic organizations. The group is developing a set of external RNA control transcripts that can be used to assess technical performance in gene expression assays. The ERCC is now initiating the testing phase of the project, during which candidate external RNA controls will be evaluated in both microarray and QRT-PCR gene expression platforms. This document describes the proposed experiments and informatics process that will be followed to test and qualify individual controls. The ERCC is distributing this description of the proposed testing process in an effort to gain consensus and to encourage feedback from the scientific community. On October 4-5, 2005, the ERCC met to further review the document, clarify ambiguities, and plan the next steps. A summary of this meeting and changes to the test plan are provided as an appendix to this manuscript.