Patent ID: 6482595
Filing Date: 2002-11-19
Classification: C12Q

Abstract:
A method for detecting a nucleic acid insertion or deletion, the method comprising the steps of:a) selecting a nucleic acid having a known wild-type sequence and having a target region comprising at most three different types of nucleotide bases selected from the group consisting of dGTP, dATP, dTTP, and dCTP; b) contacting a sample with an oligonucleotide primer that is complementary to a portion of said nucleic acid immediately upstream of said target region; c) extending said primer in the presence of nucleotide bases that are complementary to the nucleotide bases of the target region, thereby to form a primer extension product; d) extending the primer extension product in the presence of a labeled nucleotide complementary to a nucleotide base downstream from the target region in said nucleic acid, wherein said labeled nucleotide is not complementary to any of the nucleotide bases of the target region selected in step (a); and, e) comparing the size of the labeled extension product obtained in step d) to a standard, wherein a labeled extension product smaller than the standard is indicative of the presence of a deletion in the target region and a labeled extension product larger than the standard is indicative of the presence of an insertion in the target region.