Key result
A computer-assisted process combining nucleic acid sequence data with PCR instrumentation enables the rapid development of highly specific and sensitive pathogen diagnostics.
A computer-assisted process combined with PCR enables the rapid development of highly specific and sensitive nucleic acid diagnostics for viruses and bacteria.
May speed diagnostic development for emerging pathogens; leaves open prospective clinical validation.
There has been a significant increase, fueled by technologies front the human genome project, in the availability of nucleic acid sequence information for viruses and bacteria. This paper presents a computer-assisted process that begins with nucleic acid sequence information and produces highly specific pathogen signatures. When combined with instrumentation using the polymerase chain reaction, the resulting diagnostics are both specific and sensitive. The computational and engineering aspects of converting raw sequence data into pathogen-specific and instrument-ready assays are presented. Examples and data are presented for specific pathogens, including foot-and-mouth disease virus and the human immunodeficiency virus.
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Fitch et al. (2002) studied Viral and bacterial infections (e.g., foot-and-mouth disease, HIV). Computer-assisted process for developing nucleic acid diagnostics was evaluated. A computer-assisted process combining nucleic acid sequence data with PCR instrumentation enables the rapid development of highly specific and sensitive pathogen diagnostics.