HYBRIDIZATION WITH NUCLEIC ACID PROBES nonradioactive labels

Chapters 31 and 32 deal with similar concepts, in that probes are hybridized to a nucleic acid extract, derived by bacterial lysis. The probes have a label that can be detected in a nonradioactive assay, and the probe plus target complex can be specifically captured by magnetic beads (Chapter 31) or a plastic dipstick (Chapter 32). A positive signal means that a sequence, and hence a particular bacterium, is present in the tested sample. These protocols are useful in clinical and food microbiological contexts, where diagnosis of bacterial presence must be made quickly, and can be used to formulate a decision whether or not other confirmatory tests should be carried out. 

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