Use of two reverse transcriptases eliminates false-positive results in differential display.

The selection of false-positive clones in differential display PCR (DDRT-PCR) represents a formidable drawback to this otherwise powerful technique of detecting subtle differences between cell types. DDRT-PCR performed with cDNAs generated by two different reverse transcriptases from the same RNA doubles the total number of reactions; nevertheless, false-positive clones arising from small differences between RNA preparations are easily distinguished from differentially expressed transcripts.