Patent ID: 7468261

Claim:
A method for detecting a target DNA or RNA polynucleotide, said method comprising: (a) incubating a single-stranded target polynucleotide with a second polynucleotide comprising a sequence that hybridizes to the single-stranded target polynucleotide forming a bubble complex, wherein said bubble complex comprises a first double-stranded upstream region, a non-complementary single-stranded middle region, and a second double-stranded downstream region, an initiator, an RNA polymerase, and a terminator, wherein said initiator hybridizes with said target polynucleotide; (b) extending said initiator until said terminator is incorporated into an oligonucleotide transcript, by the process of abortive transcription; (c) repeating steps (a) and (b), thereby synthesizing multiple reiterative oligonucleotide transcripts from said target polynucleotide; and (d) detecting or quantifying said reiterative oligonucleotide transcripts, wherein the presence of said reiterative oligonucleotide transcripts is indicative of the presence of said target DNA or RNA polynucleotide.