Epidemiology and Infection

Table of Contents - 1992 - Volume 108, Issue 01  

Research Article

Rotavirus detection by dot blot hybridization assay using a non-radioactive synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide probe

J. Fernándeza1, A. Sandinoa1, A. Yudelevicha2, L. F. Avendañoa1, A. Venegasa2, V. Hinrichsena2 and E. Spencer c1

a1 Unidad de Virologia INTA, Universidad de Chile, Macul 5540, Casilla 138–11, Santiago, Chile.

a2 Departamento de Biologia Celular y Molecular, Facultad de Ciencias Biologicas, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Abstract

A synthetic oligodeoxynucletide of 40 nucleotides corresponding to nucleotides 33–72 of the gene coding for the viral protein VP7 of rotavirus, was used as a nucleic acid probe to develop a non-radiactive hybridization method for rotavirus detection. The probe was labelled at the 3' end with biotin-7-dATP. The sensitivity and specificity of the dot blot hybridization assay for rotavirus detection was evaluated with 303 stool specimens. The results indicate that the hybridization assay has a higher sensitivity than both PAGE and EIA. Among the rotavirus strains tested 37 different electropherotypes were found. The results suggest that rotavirus diagnosis by dot hybridization using a non-radioactive probe may become routine laboratory procedure because it is simple, highly specific and very sensitive.

(Accepted July 31 1991)

Correspondence:

c1 Corresponding author.

Metrics
Related Content