Use of nucleic acid probes to identify mycobacteria directly from Difco ESP-Myco bottles

DNA probes are fragments of DNA labeled with a reporter tag to enable their detection or purification. The resulting labeled DNA probes can then hybridize to target nucleic acid sequences through complementary base-pairing, and may be used to recover or identify these regions.
Radioisotopes, fluorophores, or small molecule binding partners like biotin or digoxigenin, are the most widely used reporter tags for labeling DNA probes. These labels can be attached to the probe DNA molecule via...

Fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH, was developed in the early 1980s and has quickly become one of the most widely used techniques in cytogenetics. Labeled probes are used to bind complementary DNA or RNA sequences on a chromosome or in a region within a cell. Earlier, the probes could only be obtained by cloning or reverse transcription of a DNA template. Currently, the probe oligonucleotides can be synthesized synthetically. Additionally, with the advancement of optical techniques,...

MALDI-TOF MS has transformed clinical microbiology by offering a rapid and reliable method for pathogen identification. The traditional approach to microbial identification typically involves time-consuming culture techniques and biochemical tests, which can delay the initiation of appropriate antimicrobial therapy. MALDI-TOF MS avoids these delays by using characteristic ribosomal protein mass patterns of microbial cells, enabling accurate species-level identification within minutes.Principle...