Making DNA Detection Cheaper & More Flexible

Aptamer-based DNA detection could make it easier and cheaper to diagnose disease, scientists say.

AsianScientist (Aug. 18, 2015) – Using an aptamer, a DNA fragment that can recognize and bind to specific proteins or enzymes, researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed an affordable new technique to analyze target DNA.

Their findings, published in Chemical Communications, could facilitate the development of genetic diagnostic kits for novel infectious agents such as the coronavirus that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

Existing genetic diagnosis techniques are based on molecular beacon probes and require a new beacon probe whenever a target DNA mutates. As a result, it is costly to analyze multiple target DNA fragments. To address this problem, Park Hyun-Gyu and his team designed an aptamer which acts as a switch, turning on and off the activity of DNA polymerase.

In the presence of its target DNA, the aptamer undergoes a conformational change, causing it to bind to and deactivate DNA polymerase. The controlled activation and deactivation of DNA polymerase makes it possible to quantify the amount of target DNA based on the amount of fluorescently labelled DNA in each sample.

Unlike the existing molecular beacon probe technique which requires a new probe for every target DNA, multiple targets can be detected using the same fluorescent probes, making detection cheaper and easier. The application of this technique will make the process of identifying and detecting foreign DNAs from pathogens such as virus and bacteria more affordable and simple.

Park said, “This technique will enable us to develop simpler diagnostic kits for new pathogens, such as MERS, allowing a faster response to various diseases. Our technology can also be applied widely in the field of genetic diagnostics.”

The article can be found at: Park K et al. (2015) Target DNA Induced Switches of DNA Polymerase Activity.

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Source: KAIST.
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