Minor groove binder modification of widely used TaqMan probe for hepatitis E virus reduces risk of false negative real-time PCR results

► The Tm of a TaqMan probe employed in a widely used RT-qPCR for HEV was calculated. ► Calculations showed that the melting temperature (Tm) of the probe was suboptimal. ► A Minor Groove Binder version of probe was synthesised in order to increase its Tm. ► MGB probe detected HEV in 6 samples that were negative with the unmodified probe. ► False negative results were due to a C→T point mutation in the probe binding region.