The External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC) is holding an open meeting to review and discuss the proposed standard controls test plan. The ERCC Draft Test Plan is available at: http://www.cstl.nist.gov/biotech/ERCC/testplan.htm.
October 4-5, 2005
Lister Hill Auditorium, Bethesda, MD
8:30 AM - 5 PM
October 4 - Test Plan review, discussion, community feedback
October 5 - Test Plan implementation
The goal of the External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC) is the creation of well-characterized and tested RNA spike-in controls useful for evaluating sample and system performance, to facilitate standardized data comparisons among commercial and custom microarray platforms as well as by an alternative expression profiling method, QRT-PCR. The ERCC is developing RNA controls for which there will be consensus on utility and acceptance in the community. To achieve this goal more than fifty scientists representing the public, private, and academic sectors internationally are working together to produce:
One hundred controls consisting of well-characterized clones comprised of random unique sequence as determined by sequence comparison to mouse, rat, human, drosophila, E. coli, mosquito sequence databases, as well as Bacillus subtillus and Arabidopsis thaliana clones.
Publication of all sequence information and test data demonstrating acceptable performance across platforms.
Protocols for the preparation and use of the standard controls.
Suitable algorithms and bioinformatic tools for quantitative assessment and evaluation. Fundamental questions of sequence uniqueness, length, polyA tail length, control performance metrics are being addressed and data is being collected as part of the project. In conjunction with the activities of the ERCC a guideline is being developed for use of the controls in research and clinical laboratories via the accredited process of the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI, formerly NCCLS). The guideline, Use of External RNA Controls in Gene Expression Assays; Proposed Guideline, will be available for public review and comment in summer 2005.
Purpose
Sample control. Align specifications and characteristics with
recommendations made at March 2003 NIST Metrology and Standards
Needs for Gene Expression Technologies: Universal RNA Standards
Workshop held at Stanford University.
Participants
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Affymetrix, Inc.
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Agilent Technologies
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Ambion, Inc.
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Applied Biosystems
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American Type Culture Collection
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Biomerieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France
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Bristol Myers Squibb
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Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
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CapitalBio Corporation, Beijing, China
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Celera Diagnostics
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Cenetron Diagnostics
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Centers for Disease Control
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Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute
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Clinical Hospital Center
Zagreb, Croatia
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Combimatrix Corporation
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Eli Lilly and Company
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Enzo Life Sciences
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Eppendorf Array Division
Namur, Belgium
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Expression Analysis, Inc.
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FDA, CBER
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FDA, CDER
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FDA, CDRH
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FDA, NCTR
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FDA, OIVD
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GE Healthcare
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Genetics Society of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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Illumina
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Informax
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International Federation of Clinical Chemistry & Laboratory Medicine, Milano, Italy
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Invitrogen Corporation
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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
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LGC, Teddington, UK
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Maine Molecular Quality Controls
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Mayo Clinic
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Merck and Company
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National Institute
of Standards and Technology
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NIH, National Cancer Institute
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Northwestern University
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NuGEN Technologies, Inc.
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Qiagen, Hilden, Germany
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Queens University Hospital, Ontario, Canada
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Roche Molecular Systems
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Stanford University
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Stratagene Corporation
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Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan
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University of California Los Angeles
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University Health Network, Toronto, Canada
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US Department of Agriculture
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Veridex, Johnson & Johnson
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ViaLogy Corporation
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Veridex, Johnson & Johnson
Deliverables
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Well-characterized, widely accepted RNA standard controls for multiple platforms
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Protocols for multiple applications, research and clinical laboratory (CLSI/NCCLS)
