Miniaturization of a qPCR Assay with Reduced Reagent Volumes to Achieve Cost Savings in Gene Expression Analyses

The ruminal epithelium is characterized by high transport rates of short chain fatty acids and minerals like Na⁺, Cl^- and Mg²⁺. However, to maintain stable physiological conditions in the rumen and to meet increased needs of nutrients the transport capacity of the epithelium can even be significantly increased. To investigate the underlying mechanisms of adaptation the expression of several carrier proteins were analyzed under different feeding conditions using the technique of relative quantitative PCR, focussing on changes in gene-of-interest expression rather than on absolute expression.