title: Selection and identification of a DNA aptamer targeted to Vibrio parahemolyticus.
abstract: A whole-bacterium systemic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) method was applied to a combinatorial library of FAM-labeled single-stranded DNA molecules to identify DNA aptamers demonstrating specific binding to  Vibrio parahemolyticus . FAM-labeled aptamer sequences with high binding affinity to  V. parahemolyticus  were identified by flow cytometric analysis. Aptamer A3P, which showed a particularly high binding affinity in preliminary studies, was chosen for further characterization. This aptamer displayed a dissociation constant (K(d)) of 16.88 ± 1.92 nM. Binding assays to assess the specificity of aptamer A3P showed a high binding affinity (76%) for  V. parahemolyticus  and a low apparent binding affinity (4%) for other bacteria. Whole-bacterium SELEX is a promising technique for the design of aptamer-based molecular probes for microbial pathogens that does not require the labor-intensive steps of isolating and purifying complex markers or targets.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China.
authors.forename: Nuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Shijia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xiujuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yukun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Zhouping
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D015723:Gene Library; D007700:Kinetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D052156:SELEX Aptamer Technique / Q000379:methods*; D014736:Vibrio parahaemolyticus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D052157:Aptamers, Nucleotide; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded