Tyagi S, Bratu D P, Kramer F R
Department of Molecular Genetics, Public Health Research Institute, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Nat Biotechnol. 1998 Jan;16(1):49-53. doi: 10.1038/nbt0198-49.
Molecular beacons are hairpin-shaped oligonucleotide probes that report the presence of specific nucleic acids in homogenous solutions. When they bind to their targets they undergo a conformational reorganization that restores the fluorescence of an internally quenched fluorophore. We found that their hairpin conformation enables the use of a wide variety of differently colored fluorophores. Using several molecular beacons, each designed to recognize a different target and each labeled with a different fluorophore, we demonstrate that multiple targets can be distinguished in the same solution, even if they differ from one another by as little as a single nucleotide. A comparison of "hairpin probes" with corresponding "linear probes" confirms that the presence of the hairpin stem in molecular beacons significantly enhances their specificity.
分子信标是发夹状的寡核苷酸探针，可报告均相溶液中特定核酸的存在。当它们与靶标结合时，会发生构象重组，从而恢复内部淬灭荧光团的荧光。我们发现它们的发夹构象使得能够使用多种不同颜色的荧光团。使用几种分子信标，每种信标设计用于识别不同的靶标并标记有不同的荧光团，我们证明即使在同一溶液中的多个靶标彼此之间仅相差一个核苷酸，也能将它们区分开来。“发夹探针”与相应的“线性探针”的比较证实，分子信标中发夹茎的存在显著提高了它们的特异性。
