Source: Laboratories of Dr. Ian Pepper and Dr. Charles Gerba - The University of Arizona
Demonstrating Author: Bradley Schmitz

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), also known as real-time PCR, is a widely-used molecular technique for enumerating microorganisms in the environment. Prior to this approach, quantifying microorganisms was limited largely to classical culture-based techniques. However, the culturing of microbes from environmental samples can be particularly challenging, and it is generally held that as few as 1 to 10% of the microorganisms present within environmental samples are detectable using these techniques. The advent of qPCR in environmental microbiology research has therefore advanced the field greatly by allowing for more accurate determination of concentrations of microorganisms such as disease-causing pathogens in environmental samples. However, an important limitation of qPCR as an applied microbiological technique is that living, viable populations cannot be differentiated from inactive or non-living populations.

This video demonstrates the use of qPCR to detect pepper mild mottle virus from an environmental water sample.