The invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) eventually earned Kary B. Mullis half of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1 4). However, for several years, issues of quality control and reproducibility interfered with attempts at commercial or clinical application of PCR. More recently, persistent work and numerous methodological inno- tions and refinements have resulted in the establishment of PCR as a routine, sensitive, and specific detection method in hospital and agricultural labora- ries. This transformation of PCR from an experimental research technique to an established bioassay tool formed the impetus behind PCR in Bioanalysis. PCR has proven particularly valuable in clinical microbiology and the diagnosis of infectious diseases in humans and animals. This large and diverse group of applications is reviewed in Chapter 1 by Gorm Lisby. S- cific organisms now detectable by PCR include hepatitis C virus (protocols presented in Chapter 14), Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Chapter 18), Chla- dia and Trichomonas species (Chapter 20), Toxoplasma gondii (Chapter 17), Legionella species (Chapter 15), enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (Chapters 9 and 10), HIV-1 subspecies (Chapter 8), bovine immunodeficiency-like virus (Chapter 6), rodent parvoviruses (Chapter 2), Ross River virus (Chapter 12), and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (Chapter 7).

Zusammenfassung
Offers powerful PCR-based protocols and assays in actual use or potential use in clinical medicine and commercial biology. The main focus of the book is on the commercial applications of PCR, as opposed to basic research uses.

Inhalt
Application of Nucleic Acid Amplification in Clinical Microbiology.- Detection of Rodent Parvoviruses by PCR.- The SURF Technique.- Prenatal and Presymptomatic Diagnosis of Marfan Syndrome Using Fluorescence PCR and an Automated Sequencer.- Measurement of TNF and iNOS mRNA Using cDNA-Equalized Reverse Transcriptase PCR.- PCR Diagnosis of the Bovine Immunodeficiency-Like Virus.- PCR Analysis for the Identification of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus in Boar Semen.- Quantitative and Discriminative Detection of Individual HIV-1 mRNA Subspecies by an RNase Mapping Assay.- Detection of the Heat-Labile Toxin Coding Gene (LT-Gene) of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.- Motif-Dependent Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).- In Vitro Transcription/Translation Analysis for the Identification of Translation-Terminating Mutations.- A Single-Tube Nested RT-PCR for the Detection of Ross River Virus.- Application of PCR to Transgenic Plants.- Detection of Hepatitis C Virus RNA by Semiquantitative Reverse-Transcription PCR.- Detection of Legionella Species in Bronchial Fluid by PCR.- Quantitative Measurement of mRNA Expression by Competitive RT-PCR.- PCR Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in Human Fetal Tissues.- Rapid Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis Using Roche AMPLICOR™Mycobacterium tuberculosis PCR Test.- The Use of Flow Cytometry and RT-PCR in the Detection of Circulating PSA-Positive Cells in Prostate Cancer.- Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Trichomonas vaginalis in the Vaginal Introitus, Posterior Vagina, and Endocervix by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- Detection and Isolation of Differentially Expressed Genes by PCR.- Detection of Transgene Integrants and Homologous Recombinants in Mice by Polymerase Chain Reaction.- Direct Analysis for Familial AdenomatousPolyposis Mutations.- PCR Fingerprinting for Detection of Deleted or Amplified Sequences in Human Cancer.