title: Application of PNA openers for fluorescence-based detection of bacterial DNA.
abstract: Peptide nucleic acid (PNA) openers have the unique ability to invade double-stranded DNA with high efficiency and sequence specificity, making it possible to detect short (about 20 bp), single-copy bacterial DNA sequences. PNA openers bind to a target signature site on one strand of bacterial DNA, leaving the other strand open for hybridization with a circularizable oligonucleotide probe. The assembled complex serves as a template for rolling circle amplification. The obtained amplicon is decorated with short, single-stranded DNA probes carrying fluorophores and detected via fluorescence microscopy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Smolina
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D004270:DNA, Circular / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004270:DNA, Circular; D020135:Peptide Nucleic Acids