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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 12 1996, 2985-2989, Vol 34, No. 12
ML Beggs, MD Cave, C Marlowe, L Cloney, P Duck and KD Eisenach
Cycling probe technology (CPT) is a unique and simple method for the
detection of specific target sequences. CPT utilizes a chimeric DNA-RNA-
DNA probe providing an RNase H-sensitive scissile linkage when bound to a
complementary target sequence. For this study a diagnostic assay based on
CPT was developed for the detection of the 36-bp direct repeat (DR) region
in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. To determine the feasibility of using the DR
for detecting M. tuberculosis by CPT, a wide variety of mycobacteria were
tested by Southern blot hybridization with three DR probes to verify their
specificity. The entire DR region of Mycobacterium bovis 401 was sequenced,
and the data were used to design a PCR assay that would allow us to
estimate the number of DRs present in a variety of strains. A CPT assay
which uses a probe complementary to the DR region was developed and
evaluated with synthetic targets and genomic DNA from mycobacteria. In
summary, the 36-bp DR provides an attractive target for detecting M.
tuberculosis because the sequence is present in high copy numbers in the
genome, is specific for the M. tuberculosis complex, and is found in
strains that lack IS6110.
Copyright © 1996 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex direct repeat sequence for use in cycling probe reaction
Department of Pathology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, USA. MLBEGGS@life.uams.edu
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