University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine > DVM Resources > Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory > Molecular

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

Molecular

Additional Navigation

ONLINE TEST RESULTS: ACCESS | SIGN UP | LOOK UP DIAGNOSTIC TESTS | SUBMISSION FORMS | TESTS AND FEES

[molecular service of the veterinary diagnostic laboratory]The microbiology and virology molecular service performs many diagnostic tests which directly detect the DNA or RNA of an organism.  PCR or rRT-PCR specificity and sensitivity are what make these methods so useful.  They allow us to discover if an animal is currently infected with an organism for which we have an assay.  Sometimes we also perform universal PCR to detect bacteria or fungi.  In these cases we may analyze the DNA sequence to determine genus and, if possible, species.