mericon Screen Nos Kit

The mericon Screen Nos Kit is designed for the detection of the nos terminator from Agrobacterium tumefaciens in food and animal feed. The mericon Screen Nos Kit can detect as little as 10 copies of target DNA in a reaction and exhibits high specificity for  the nos terminator. No cross-reactivity was observed with other genetic constructs or with plant or animal species not containing this genetic construct using 50 ng of tested DNA (see the table "Results of mericon Screen Nos Kit cross-reactivity study").

Results of mericon Screen Nos Kit cross-reactivity study

The mericon Screen Nos Kit is designed for the qualitative detection of the nos terminator sequence. The nos terminator sequence of nopaline synthase from Agrobacterium tumefaciens is frequently used in several genetically modified plants as a transcription terminator sequence. The nos gene can therefore be used to screen for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) containing this sequence.

Detection of GMOs using real-time PCR is based on the amplification of a specific region of the relevant GMO genome. The amplified product is detected using target-specific fluorescent probes that bind to it. As the PCR product accumulates, there is an increased fluorescent signal from the bound probes. Monitoring the fluorescence intensities during the PCR run (i.e., in real time) allows the detection of the accumulating PCR product without having to re-open the reaction tubes afterward.

mericon PCR Assays include an internal control to control potential inhibition. This aids in the straightforward interpretation of the results (see the table "Summary of possible PCR outcomes").

The PCR primer set for each assay is highly specific and targets either a genetic construct that is commonly used in GMOs or a DNA sequence that is specific for a particular GMO. These targets were verified bioinformatically and experimentally. 

DNA is extracted from a sample of food or animal feed using a dedicated sample preparation kit. QIAGEN's DNeasy mericon Food Kit is suitable for a wide range of food matrices, including those with high inhibitor contents.

The isolated, pure DNA is assayed using a streamlined real-time PCR protocol that returns results in 82 minutes on QIAGEN's Rotor-Gene Q. The protocol has also been validated for use on other thermal block cyclers.

The results are displayed as easy-to-interpret PCR curves.