Patent ID: 6503709
Filing Date: 2003-01-07
Classification: C12Q

Abstract:
A method for detecting the presence of a methicillin resistant Staphylococcus in a biological sample, comprising:(a) treating a biological sample to expose at least one target nucleic acid molecule; (b) hybridizing the target nucleic acid molecule with a scissile link-containing nucleic acid probe under conditions that permit the formation of a double-stranded target-probe complex, wherein the probe consists of the nucleotide sequence AATAGAGAAA AAAAAAAAG ATGGCAAAG (SEQ ID NO:1); (c) reacting the target-probe complex with an enzyme, wherein the enzyme cleanses the scissile link of the target-probe complex such that at least one probe fragment is released from the complex; and (d) determining whether at least one probe fragment is released from the complex, thereby detecting the presence of a methicillin resistant Staphylococcus.