Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-024253",
  "term": "Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A laboratory test that measures the amount of the virus RNA (also known as viral load) in a blood sample by replicating the virus' genetic material to measurable levels.\n\n2. A laboratory procedure in which an RNA strand is first transcribed into a DNA complement and then subjected to PCR amplification. Transcribing an RNA strand into a DNA complement is termed reverse transcription and is done by the enzyme reverse transcriptase.",
  "abbreviation": "RT-PCR",
  "references": [
    "Adapted from NIH AIDS Info Glossary",
    "National Cancer Institute Thesaurus"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/reverse-transcriptase-polymerase-chain-reaction/"
}