Nucleic Acid Probe Assays

Abstract

For over 20 years nucleic acid probes have been vital tools in the field of molecu­lar biology. Methods such as the Southern, sandwich andin situhybridizations have greatly facilitated scientific research and have provided scientists with valuable information regarding the genetic compo­sitions of bacteria and viruses and how cyto­pathic viruses control hostcell genetic func­tions. Methods of detecting pathogenic viruses and bacteria in human blood and tissue specimens have been developed that are very sensitive and exquisitely specific. These methods include solution-phase andin situhybridization using labeled nucleic acid probes and the polymerase chain reac­tion, a revolutionary method for amplify­ing limited copies of specific nucleic acid sequences. However, the ability of these as­says to amplify and detect the desired patho­gen DNA or RNA, and not those of closely