Rapid Screening of Multiple β-Globin Gene Mutations by Real-Time PCR on the LightCycler: Application to Carrier Screening and Prenatal Diagnosis of Thalassemia Syndromes

Abstract

The described LightCycler system protocol can rapidly screen for many beta-globin gene mutations. It is appropriate for use in many populations for directing definitive mutation diagnosis and is suited for rapid prenatal diagnosis with low cost per assay.