A series of dATP and dCTP nucleotide analogs have been synthesized which are modified by attachment of aliphatic linkers containing a functional group to the amino-nitrogen at the hydrogen bonding positions of the bases, that is, at the 6-position of adenine and the 4-position of cytosine. These nucleotides are incorporated into DNA probes by standard nick-translation protocols. DNA probes labe...

Three approaches were used to identify DNA polymorphisms in humans by examining the DNAs of a number of individuals within Huntington's Disease pedigrees as well as random individuals for restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). The first approach used randomly chosen, cloned single-copy DNA segments from four types of human recombinant DNA libraries as hybridization probes to detect ...

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometry was used to analyze short DNA duplex probes with one strand immobilized on solid supports (straptavidin-coated magnetic beads or controlled pore glass beads). Only the non-immobilized strand could be detected. Partial denaturation was found when the duplex probes were mixed with 3-hydroxypicolinic acid, a...

DNA polymerases are the key enzymes for DNA synthesis involved in DNA replication, recombination, and repair. These enzymes undergo manifold contacts with the primer-template-substrates reaching up to several nucleotide pairs beyond the catalytic centre. To evaluate these enzyme contacts with the DNA substrates we applied novel synthetic steric probes in functional studies. We found that throug...

Telomere length can provide valuable insight into telomeres and telomerase related diseases, including cancer. Here, we present a brand-new optical telomere length measurement protocol using surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). In this protocol, two single strand DNA are used as SERS probes. They are labeled with two different Raman molecules and can specifically hybridize with telomeres a...

The classification of 27 wild isolates assigned to Dictyostelium discoideum on the basis of morphological criteria was reexamined using probes specific for DNA sequences cloned from the type strain NC4. These probes included ones specific for ribosomal spacer DNA regions and for a ribosomal RNA coding sequence, as well as probes for two chromosomal gene families (actin and discoidin) and for th...

The analysis of the differences between two complex genomes holds promise for the discovery of infectious agents and probes useful for genetic studies. A system was developed in which subtractive and kinetic enrichment was used to purify restriction endonuclease fragments present in one population of DNA fragments but not in another. Application of this method to DNA populations of reduced comp...

We describe a simple hybridization assay performed in microtitration wells with use of DNA probes labeled with three different lanthanide chelates for detection of seven mutations that cause cystic fibrosis. The assay is based on DNA amplification of four fragments containing the mutations (delta F508, G1717-->A, G542X, R553X, 3905 insertion T, W1282X, and N1303K) by PCR, followed by hybridizat...

Linkage analysis has been undertaken in two British and three South African Indian families with Von Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis. Eleven polymorphic DNA probes were studied, including both random DNA sequences and candidate oncogenes. Although no evidence for linkage of these probes to the disease was detected, substantial exclusion regions were established on six of the chromosomes studied.