A test of human cDNA synthesis by the polymerase chain reaction

A fast and efficient method to test the quality of human cDNA synthesis based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is described. An aliquot of the cDNA reaction is used as a template for PCR amplification of a segment of the human histidyl-tRNA synthetase gene. The presence of an intron of approximately 300 bp in that region of the gene permits the identification of any genomic contamination in the cDNA sample. The same protocol has also been used with other mammalian DNAs with similar results.