| abstract |
Disclosed is a method of detecting the presence of a nucleic acid target sequence of interest, the method comprising the steps of:(a) adding first and second nucleic acid probes to a sample comprising the sequence of interest, so as to form a complex comprising three strands of nucleic acid, wherein the first probe comprises the full length sequence of a first strand of a double stranded promoter, the target sequence comprises an end part of a second strand of the double stranded promoter which is complementary to a part of the first strand, and the second probe comprises the rest of the second strand of the double stranded promoter which is complementary to a part of the first strand, such that a functional promoter is formed when the first probe is hybridized to both the target sequence and to the second probe;(b) adding a polymerase which recognizes the promoter, so as to cause the de novo synthesis of nucleic acid from the promoter present in the complex; and(c) detecting directly or indirectly the de novo synthesized nucleic acid. Also disclosed is the complex formed in performance of the method defined above, and a kit for performing the method defined above. |