Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction for detection of a mutation in the relax circular DNA and the covalently closed circular DNA of hepatitis B virus

The relax circle DNA (rcDNA) sequence and the covalently closed circle DNA (cccDNA) sequence in hepatitis B virus (HBV) are crucial regions for HBV infections. To analyze mutations in rcDNA and cccDNA, DNA sequencing is often used, although it is time-consuming and expensive. Herein, we report a simple, economic, albeit accurate allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) to detect mutations in these regions of HBV. This method can be extensively used to screen for mutations at specific positions of HBV genome. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.