Patent ID: 7122314

Claim:
A method for detecting the presence of a VanA vancomycin-resistant microorganism, a VanB vancomycin-resistant microorganism, or a dual VanA and VanB vancomycin-resistant microorganism in a sample, said method comprising: (a) contacting a sample that may have a target nucleic acid molecule with a nucleic acid probe and a cleaving agent, wherein the probe is substantially complementary to a portion of the target and comprises a nucleic acid molecule having the sequence of 5′-CATGATGTGTCGGTAAAATCTGCAATAGAGA-3′ (SEQ ID NO:6); (b) incubating under conditions and for a time sufficient for the formation of a probe:target hybridized duplex and for the probe to be cleaved within the probe:target duplex; (c) recycling the target molecule at least once through step (b); and (d) determining whether at least one probe fragment is released from the complex, thereby detecting the presence of a VanA vancomycin-resistant microorganism, a VanB vancomycin-resistant microorganism, or a dual VanA and VanB vancomycin-resistant microorganism.