RT PCR full form is reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RT-PCR is a laboratory method that involves the amplification of specified DNA targets via polymerase chain reaction and the reverse transcription from RNA into DNA. The main use of this method is to quantify a target RNA.
Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or quantitative PCR does this by monitoring amplification reaction in real time using fluorescence (qPCR). Gene expression profiling and viral RNA quantification using RT-PCR and qPCR are commonplace in both research and clinical contexts.
Since qPCR is so often used in conjunction with RT-PCR, the two methods have become synonymous, and the former is often used as a metonym for the latter. Because RT-PCR can be employed without qPCR—for instance, to permit molecular cloning, sequencing, or simple detection of RNA—such an application may be misleading[2]. On the other hand, qPCR can be performed independently of RT-PCR, perhaps to count the copies of a target DNA sequence.
RT-PCR has become the gold standard for detecting and comparing RNA levels because (a) it doesn’t require post-PCR processing, (b) it can quantify a broad range (>107-fold) in RNA abundance, and (c) it gives insight into qualitative & quantitative data. [5] RT-versatility PCR’s stems from its ease of use, specificity, and sensitivity, making it applicable to a broad variety of investigations.