Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE)

Rapid Amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) provides an inexpensive and powerful tool to quickly obtain full-length cDNA when the sequence is only partially known. Starting with an mRNA mixture, gene-specific primers generated from the known regions of the gene and non-specific anchors, full-length sequences can be identified in as little as 3 days. RACE can also be used to identify alternative transcripts of a gene when the partial or complete sequence of only one transcript is known. In the following sections, we outline details for rapid amplification of 5′ and 3′ cDNA ends using the “new RACE” technique.