Chapter 4 - Principles of nucleic acid-based detection methods

Abstract

Molecular analyses using nucleic acid-based detection methods are important in the development of agricultural biotechnology products. DNA-based detection methods are also required for registration of commercial products, as well as for tracking products throughout their life cycle. Appropriate DNA quality is a prerequisite for various detection methods. There are several types of DNA extraction methods for plant materials and for different applications. Resulting DNA quality can be significantly different but must be suitable for intended detection methods. DNA-based detection methods may be generally divided into three major types among others, including hybridization, amplification, and sequencing. While hybridization-based methods remain useful, amplification-based methods have been adopted as the current standard. Next-generation sequencing-based methods have been rapidly evolving and starting to replace existing detection methods and platforms. This chapter briefly introduces rationales of popular nucleic acid-based detection methods.