Comparison of sequence analysis and a novel discriminatory real-time PCR assay for detection and quantification of lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus strains

Abstract

We report a rapid and accurate real-time PCR-based method to quantify wild-type and lamivudine-resistant hepatitis B virus by using a common forward primer paired with different reverse primers. Excellent concordance was demonstrated between sequencing and the discriminatory real-time assay; however, a mixture of quasispecies was more frequently detected by discriminatory real-time PCR.