HPV Is a DNA Virus and Can Be Detected in a Sample

question 68

Multiple Choice

HPV is a DNA virus and can be detected in a sample using PCR. Is it possible to detect an RNA virus using this technique or something similar?

• A) No; there is no known process by which RNA can be copied because the subunits of RNA are amino acids and these cannot be amplified without the use of ribosomes. 
• B) Yes; a variation of PCR is RT-PCR in which an enzyme called reverse transcriptase generates cDNA from mRNA in a sample, and that cDNA is then amplified exponentially.
• C) Yes; Taq polymerase is a unique DNA polymerase that can copy either RNA or DNA, so it doesn't matter what type of virus is present-the enzyme will still detect it in a PCR reaction.
• D) No; PCR can only be carried out on a double-stranded molecule such as DNA, and RNA is a single-stranded molecule. 
• E) There is no answer to this question because nobody has ever tried to amplify RNA; viruses contain both DNA and RNA so it is always possible to detect the DNA component.

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