(Press-News.org) Eprobe®, a highly efficient and reliable fluorescent probe for PCR DNA amplification techniques and DNA analysis in hybridization experiments, has been developed by researchers from RIKEN and Japanese firm K.K.DNAFORM. This technology will enable the development of new, advanced assays for DNA-based genetic testing and help to bring the benefits of genome-wide sequencing studies to patients in the clinic.
Takeshi Hanami, Diane Delobel and colleagues from the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, the RIKEN Preventive Medicine & Diagnosis Innovation Program, and K.K.DNAFORM report on the development of the new molecular probe today in the journal PLOS ONE.
PCR, for Polymerase Chain Reaction, is a simple and inexpensive DNA amplification technique, widely used to analyse DNA and RNA in life science laboratories. PCR is further applied in hospitals to diagnose diseases, identify bacteria and viruses, or in forensic medicine. During PCR, small amounts of target DNA molecules are copied and rapidly amplified, thus enabling researchers to analyze the DNA, test it or clone it.
Eprobes are short DNA oligonucleotides labeled with two fluorescent dye moieties attached to the same nucleotide. During the DNA amplification reaction, the probes bind to the newly synthesized DNA fragments, emitting a strong fluorescence signal upon binding, which enables researchers to monitor the reaction in real-time. In the study, the researchers used Eprobes for the detection of genetic variations in the human EGFR and KRAS tumor genes by combining real-time PCR with a hybridization technique. They show that Eprobes provide decisive advantages over commonly used hybridization probes because of their unique background signal reduction, enhanced DNA-binding affinity and very low false positives rate.
"Eprobe® enables real-time PCR methods, which are gaining importance for medical diagnostics and many life science applications, because they can provide quantitative results and increased reliability as compared to standard PCR methods," explains Kengo Usui, the leader of the Genetic Diagnosis Technology Unit at RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies.
"This new technology will enable the development of advanced assay formats for the simultaneous detection of multiple target genes, as needed for example in the diagnosis of tumors" explains Takeshi Hanami, first author of the paper.
"We are very excited about the potential of the new Eprobes", comments Matthias Harbers, Visiting Scientist to the Division of Genomic Technologies at the RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies and supervisor of the Eprobe development project. "In the reactions, Eprobes acted like sequence-specific fluorescent dyes, which gives them great potential for use as hybridization probes not only in PCR and melting curve analysis but also in other important applications like for instance in Fluorescent in situ Hybridization or FISH."
INFORMATION:
Reference
Hanami et al. "Eprobe mediated real-time PCR monitoring and melting curve analysis"
PLOS ONE, 2013,
After embargo, the article will be available at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070942
About RIKEN
RIKEN is Japan's flagship research institute for basic and applied research. Over 2500 papers by RIKEN researchers are published every year in reputable scientific and technical journals, covering topics ranging across a broad spectrum of disciplines including physics, chemistry, biology, medical science and engineering. RIKEN's advanced research environment and strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration has earned itself an unparalleled reputation for scientific excellence in Japan and around the world.
Website: http://www.riken.jp
Find us on Twitter at @riken_en
About the Center for Life Science Technologies (CLST)
The RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies aims at the development of key technologies for breakthroughs in medical and pharmaceutical applications by conducting ground-breaking research and development programs for next-generation life sciences. CLST comprises the Division of Structural and Synthetic Biology, the Division of Genomic Technologies, and the Division of Bio-function Dynamics Imaging, which will work together in this endeavor. Research and development programs are carried out in collaboration with companies, universities, and international consortia, in order to disseminate the center's achievements to the global community.
About the RIKEN Preventive Medicine & Diagnosis Innovation Program (PMI)
The Preventive Medicine & Diagnosis Innovation Program deploys a broad range of research resources in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology and medical science to develop and establish more efficient disease detection technology that allows better disease prevention. Research groups taking part in the program are working on the discovery of new biomarkers, the development of detection technology for clinical practice, and the development of diagnosis kits. The program promotes collaborations within RIKEN and with universities, research institutes and hospitals both inside and outside Japan.
About K.K.DNAFORM
DNAFORM was established in 1998 as part of the venture business promotion program of RIKEN. DNAFORM has worked closely together with RIKEN for the development of innovative technologies for transcriptome analysis and novel applications in detection. Besides working closely together with RIKEN, DNAFORM uses its long-standing experience in the field to running its own in-house R&D program for developing proprietary technologies for innovative top quality products. DNAFORM aims to be a leading company that contributes to improved living standards and health care.
New highly efficient molecular probe for real-time PCR monitoring and genetic testing
2013-08-08
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Strangers invade the homes of giant bacteria
2013-08-08
Life is not a walk in the park for the world's largest bacteria, that live as soft, noodle-like, white strings on the bottom of the ocean depths. Without being able to fend for themselves, they get invaded by parasitic microorganisms that steal the nutrition, that they have painstakingly retreived. This newly discovered bizarre deep ocean relationship may ultimately impact ocean productivity, report researchers from University of Southern Denmark now in the scientific journal Nature.
At the bottom of the eastern Pacific off Mexico we find one of the largest bacteria in ...
Sudden cardiac arrest survival odds greater at fitness facilities
2013-08-08
People experiencing sudden cardiac arrest at exercise facilities have a higher chance of survival than at other indoor locations, likely due to early CPR and access to an automated external defibrillator (AED), among other factors, according to a study published online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The findings underscore the importance of having AEDs in places where people exert themselves and are at greater risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
Previous studies have shown that regularly exercising greatly reduces a person's overall risk of sudden ...
Ice ages only thanks to feedback
2013-08-08
Ice ages and warm periods have alternated fairly regularly in the Earth's history: the Earth's climate cools roughly every 100,000 years, with vast areas of North America, Europe and Asia being buried under thick ice sheets. Eventually, the pendulum swings back: it gets warmer and the ice masses melt. While geologists and climate physicists found solid evidence of this 100,000-year cycle in glacial moraines, marine sediments and arctic ice, until now they were unable to find a plausible explanation for it.
Using computer simulations, a Japanese, Swiss and American ...
Tackling disruptive behavior in early childhood 'could prevent substance use in adolescence'
2013-08-08
This news release is available in French. Delivering a two-year intervention programme to disruptive kindergarten children could help prevent substance use in adolescence, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.
Alcohol and drug use are highly prevalent and problematic among young people, and the link between childhood behaviour problems and adolescent substance misuse is well-recognised. In this study, Canadian researchers set out to examine whether a two-year prevention programme in childhood could stop substance misuse problems ...
Electron 'spin' key to solar cell breakthrough
2013-08-08
Organic solar cells, a new class of solar cell that mimics the natural process of plant photosynthesis, could revolutionise renewable energy - but currently lack the efficiency to compete with the more costly commercial silicon cells.
Currently, organic solar cells can achieve as much as 12 per cent efficiency in turning light into electricity, compared with 20 to 25 per cent for silicon-based cells.
Now, researchers have discovered that manipulating the 'spin' of electrons in these solar cells dramatically improves their performance, providing a vital breakthrough ...
Caltech team produces squeezed light using a silicon micromechanical system
2013-08-08
One of the many counterintuitive and bizarre insights of quantum mechanics is that even in a vacuum—what many of us think of as an empty void—all is not completely still. Low levels of noise, known as quantum fluctuations, are always present. Always, that is, unless you can pull off a quantum trick. And that's just what a team led by researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has done. The group has engineered a miniature silicon system that produces a type of light that is quieter at certain frequencies—meaning it has fewer quantum fluctuations—than ...
Scientists use genome sequencing to prove herbal remedy causes upper urinary tract cancers
2013-08-08
Genomic sequencing experts at Johns Hopkins partnered with pharmacologists at Stony Brook University to reveal a striking mutational signature of upper urinary tract cancers caused by aristolochic acid, a plant compound contained in herbal remedies used for thousands of years to treat a variety of ailments such as arthritis, gout and inflammation. Their discovery is described in the Aug. 7 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
Aristolochic [pronounced a-ris-to-lo-kik] acid is found in the plant family "Aristolochia," a vine known widely as birthwort, and while the ...
A complex story behind genes, environment, diabetes and obesity
2013-08-08
While it is well known that there is a strong genetic basis to both diabetes and obesity, and that they are linked, Australian researchers say that there are many rare genetic variants involved, which will pose a significant challenge in the quest to develop effective therapies.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body becomes less able to produce and use insulin effectively, a hormone essential for maintaining normal metabolism of food. The disorder is commonly associated with a high-sugar, high-fat diet combined with lack of exercise.
A ...
Motional layers in the brain
2013-08-08
This news release is available in German.
Recognising movement and its direction is one of the first and most important processing steps in any visual system. By this way, nearby predators or prey can be detected and even one's own movements are controlled. More than fifty years ago, a mathematical model predicted how elementary motion detectors must be structured in the brain. However, which nerve cells perform this job and how they are actually connected remained a mystery. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now come one ...
Making connections in the eye
2013-08-08
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- The human brain has 100 billion neurons, connected to each other in networks that allow us to interpret the world around us, plan for the future, and control our actions and movements. MIT neuroscientist Sebastian Seung wants to map those networks, creating a wiring diagram of the brain that could help scientists learn how we each become our unique selves.
In a paper appearing in the Aug. 7 online edition of Nature, Seung and collaborators at MIT and the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Germany have reported their first step toward this goal: ...