Patent ID: 7691573

Claim:
A method for detecting a target nucleic acid comprising: a) exposing a sample comprising a target nucleic acid to a composition comprising a first nucleic acid molecule and a second nucleic acid molecule to form a cleavage structure, wherein said target nucleic acid comprises a first portion downstream of a second portion, wherein said first nucleic acid molecule comprises a region that is complementary to said second portion of said target nucleic acid, and wherein said second nucleic acid molecule comprises a region that is complementary said first portion of said target nucleic acid, and wherein said cleavage structure comprises said first and said second nucleic acid molecules hybridized to said target nucleic acid; b) exposing said cleavage structure to an isolated enzyme having 5′ nuclease activity under conditions wherein said cleavage structure is cleaved, wherein said enzyme is selected from the group consisting of murine FEN-1 endonuclease, calf 5′ to 3′ endonuclease, and a thermostable DNA polymerase having 5′ nuclease activity but lacking DNA synthetic activity; and c) detecting the cleavage of said cleavage structure.