HPV is a DNA virus and can be detected in a sample using PCR. Is it possible to detect an RNA virus using this technique or something similar?
A) No; there is no known process by which RNA can be copied because the subunits of RNA are amino acids and these cannot be amplified without the use of ribosomes.
B) Yes; a variation of PCR is RT-PCR in which an enzyme called reverse transcriptase generates cDNA from mRNA in a sample, and that cDNA is then amplified exponentially.
C) Yes; Taq polymerase is a unique DNA polymerase that can copy either RNA or DNA, so it doesn't matter what type of virus is present-the enzyme will still detect it in a PCR reaction.
D) No; PCR can only be carried out on a double-stranded molecule such as DNA, and RNA is a single-stranded molecule.
E) There is no answer to this question because nobody has ever tried to amplify RNA; viruses contain both DNA and RNA so it is always possible to detect the DNA component.

Question

HPV is a DNA virus and can be detected in a sample using PCR. Is it possible to detect an RNA virus using this technique or something similar?
A) No; there is no known process by which RNA can be copied because the subunits of RNA are amino acids and these cannot be amplified without the use of ribosomes. 
B) Yes; a variation of PCR is RT-PCR in which an enzyme called reverse transcriptase generates cDNA from mRNA in a sample, and that cDNA is then amplified exponentially.
C) Yes; Taq polymerase is a unique DNA polymerase that can copy either RNA or DNA, so it doesn't matter what type of virus is present-the enzyme will still detect it in a PCR reaction.
D) No; PCR can only be carried out on a double-stranded molecule such as DNA, and RNA is a single-stranded molecule. 
E) There is no answer to this question because nobody has ever tried to amplify RNA; viruses contain both DNA and RNA so it is always possible to detect the DNA component.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

RT-PCR can be used to detect RNA viruses by generating cDNA from RNA using reverse transcriptase and then PCR amplification of the cDNA.

HPV Is a DNA Virus and Can Be Detected in a Sample