TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of nucleic acid probes for the detection of sexually transmitted infectious agents
AU - Horn, Janet E.
AU - Quinn, Thomas
AU - Hammer, Marlene
AU - Palmer, Lindy
AU - Falkow, Stanley
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by grant AI 21912 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
PY - 1986
Y1 - 1986
N2 - Deoxyribonucleic acid sequences specific for a pathogen of interest can be isolated from a variety of microorganisms. Such DNA probes can be exploited to detect infectious agents directly in infected patient material despite the presence of large numbers of other organisms and host DNA. This technology is dependent upon the recognition of a specific nucleotide sequence present in DNA extracted from a clinical sample by a radiolabeled or nonisotopically labeled DNA probe. We have isolated several DNA probes for the detection of pathogenic Neisseria which include a plasmid species unique to the gonococcus, as well as several cloned genes that detect both the gonococcus and the meningococcus. In addition, we have characterized a unique plasmid of Chlamydia trachomatis that has proved to be quite useful as a DNA probe for the detection of this pathogen in cervical secretions and, by in situ hybridization, in Papanicolaou smears. Deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization as a diagnostic tool is still in its infancy. It holds a number of advantages over conventional methods of pathogen detection and serves as an alternative, as well as a complement, to available immunologic methods.
AB - Deoxyribonucleic acid sequences specific for a pathogen of interest can be isolated from a variety of microorganisms. Such DNA probes can be exploited to detect infectious agents directly in infected patient material despite the presence of large numbers of other organisms and host DNA. This technology is dependent upon the recognition of a specific nucleotide sequence present in DNA extracted from a clinical sample by a radiolabeled or nonisotopically labeled DNA probe. We have isolated several DNA probes for the detection of pathogenic Neisseria which include a plasmid species unique to the gonococcus, as well as several cloned genes that detect both the gonococcus and the meningococcus. In addition, we have characterized a unique plasmid of Chlamydia trachomatis that has proved to be quite useful as a DNA probe for the detection of this pathogen in cervical secretions and, by in situ hybridization, in Papanicolaou smears. Deoxyribonucleic acid hybridization as a diagnostic tool is still in its infancy. It holds a number of advantages over conventional methods of pathogen detection and serves as an alternative, as well as a complement, to available immunologic methods.
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U2 - 10.1016/S0732-8893(86)80048-7
DO - 10.1016/S0732-8893(86)80048-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 3084160
AN - SCOPUS:0022456052
SN - 0732-8893
VL - 4
SP - 101S-109S
JO - Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
JF - Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
IS - 3
ER -