Direct detection of circRNA in real samples using reverse transcription-rolling circle amplification

Abstract Circular RNA is a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNA that has a well-conserved sequence. Emerging evidence has shown that circRNA is implicated in various biological processes, therefore, the ability to quantify circRNA in real samples facilitates the elucidation of circRNA related regulatory circuits and its disease associations. Here, a reverse transcription mediated rolling circle amplification process was proposed to achieve selective amplification of the target circRNA. This assay, termed reverse transcription-rolling circle amplification (RT-RCA), can be used to identify circRNA with high selectivity within only a few hours. RT-RCA is a competitive candidate technique for circRNA detection and may help us to understand the role of circRNA in cellular processes and human diseases in more detail.