| abstract |
A novel technique for determining the existence or nonexistence of a test nucleotide on a strand of DNA is provided. The determination advantageously uses an agent for polymerization that is capable of synthesizing an extension product if there is a match between the test nucleotide on the strand of DNA and the nucleotide opposite on an extension primer, but not if there is a mismatch. The presence or absence of the test nucleotide then may be established by determining whether the primer initiates the synthesis of an extension product in the presence of the polymerization agent. The primers of the invention may be provided with unique tails such that a single sample of DNA may be treated with a plurality of primers to test simultaneously for multiple alleles at many loci. Substrates spotted at distinct locations with oligonucleotides complementary to the unique tails of the primers may be employed to determine simultaneously the presence or absence of each of the extension products in a single test sample. |