Patent Application
20230348957
This application contains a Sequence Listing XML, which has been submitted electronically and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Said Sequence Listing XML, created on Dec. 5, 2022, is named LUMNP0157US_ST26.xml and is 78,208 bytes in size.
The present invention relates generally to the field of molecular biology. More particularly, it concerns methods and compositions for identifying nucleic acid targets in biological samples.
Multiplex analysis of nucleic acids provides for the detection of multiple specific nucleic acid targets in a single reaction mixture. One way of detecting different nucleic acids in a reaction mixture is to use target-specific probes, wherein each different probe specific for each different target nucleic acid is labeled with a distinguishable fluorescent label. However, most commercially available fluorescent detection instruments are capable of distinguishing only 4-5 fluorophores, thus limiting the ability to detect more than 4-5 target nucleic acids in a reaction mixture.
One way to address this deficiency is to use probes having multidimensional signatures comprising a combination of TM (the temperature at which 50% of a duplex nucleic acid is in double strand conformation and 50% of the duplex nucleic acid is in single strand conformation) and fluorescence of a specific wavelength. Melt analysis can be used to distinguish target-specific probes labeled with the same fluorescent label but having different TMs from each other in a single reaction mixture. Probes used in melt analysis are designed to form duplexes in the presence of their cognate target nucleic acids that display different fluorescent signals when in a duplex conformation than in single-stranded conformation. For example, in aqueous solution, probes such as PLEIADES® probes are weakly fluorescent as a result of adopting a random coil structure that brings the fluor and quencher in close proximity, resulting in quenching of the fluorescent signal. Hybridization of PLEIADES® probes to their specific target nucleic acids results in an increase in fluorescence as a result of the linear conformation of the hybridized probe and associated increase in distance separating the fluor and quencher. Thermal denaturation of the probe from the target restores the weak fluorescence associated with the random coil configuration. MOLECULAR BEACON® probes exhibit minimal fluorescence in the absence of target nucleic acids at low temperatures as these probes adopt a stem loop configuration that brings the fluor and quencher into close proximity of each other. In the presence of target and at the annealing temperature, the loop region of the probe binds to the target nucleic acid, thus separating the flour and quencher, resulting in maximal fluorescence. Thermal denaturation of the probe and target nucleic acids permit the probe to adopt a random coil structure that emits weak fluorescence, similar to that for PLEIADES® probes. Such probe systems may be used in multiplex melt analysis, where probes specific for different target nucleic acids can be designed to have different TMs representative of their cognate target nucleic acids. However, it can be challenging to design probe/target duplexes with predetermined distinguishable TMs in the context of multiplex melt analysis, since target nucleic acid regions must be carefully selected to ensure the different probe/target duplexes have the requisite TM values to be sufficiently distinguishable from each other. When probe TM values are determined by natural sequences of target nucleic acids, it can be difficult to separate the probes from each other by TM using the above traditional probe melt analysis techniques. Most PLEIADES® or MOLECULAR BEACON® probes will have a TM between 55° C. and 70° C., with melt profiles that are overlapping and difficult to resolve when more than one target is present.
One way to address this challenge is to use probes that rely on a target-dependent cleavage event to activate the probe to form a monomeric hairpin structure having a predetermined TM that is independent of the target nucleic acid sequence. WO2016/025452 teaches a method for detecting a target nucleic acid using a probe that includes a target nucleic acid-complementary region that includes a cleavage site. In the presence of the target nucleic acid, hybridization of the probe to the target nucleic acid results in cleavage at the cleavage site and subsequent intramolecular hybridization of internal complementary regions of the probe. Polymerase mediated extension at the cleaved 3′ end generates a monomeric double stranded stem of the hairpin probe. These hairpin probes can be designed to have predetermined TMs by varying the nucleotide content and length of each stem such that each different Tm is representative of a specific target nucleic acid. The probes are thus suitable for use in multiplex melt analysis as probes for different targets can be designed to have distinguishable TMs within a wide temperature range (55° C. to 90° C.) used for melt analysis. Since the target complementary region of these probes bind directly to the target, each different probe represents a different target nucleic acid sequence. This may present a challenge in probe design since a distinct probe must be designed for each different target nucleic acid to be detected in a reaction mixture. Further improvements to probes suitable for use in multiplex melt analysis are desired.
In one embodiment, provided herein are methods for detecting a first target nucleic acid in a sample, the method comprising the steps of:
In some aspects, step b) further comprises performing an amplification reaction to amplify any first target nucleic acid present in the sample.
In some aspects, the label is a first member of a reporter-quencher pair and extension of the hybridized third region to form the first hairpin probe results in incorporation of the second member of the reporter-quencher pair at a location that permits interaction of the first and second members of the reporter-quencher pair. In some aspects, the first and second members of the reporter-quencher pair are each coupled to complementary non-natural bases respectively.
In some aspects, the non-natural bases are isoC and isoG.
In some aspects, the label comprises a reporter-quencher pair arranged such that the quencher quenches the reporter signal when the first region of the first cleavable probe is single stranded and extension of the hybridized third region separates the reporter and quencher to release the reporter from quenching.
In some aspects, the hairpin probe is detected by performing melt analysis. In some aspects, the hairpin probe is detected by detecting signals from the reporter at at least one temperature below the first TM and at at least one temperature above the first TM and detecting the presence of the target nucleic acid when a difference between the signal detected at the at least one temperature below the first TM and the signal detected at the at least one temperature above the first TM is detected.
In some aspects, the first activation probe is cleaved by an invader assay cleavage event. In some aspects, the first cleavage region of the first activation probe comprises at least one ribonucleotide and the first activation probe is cleaved by an endoribonuclease. In some aspects, the endoribonuclease is RNase HII. In some aspects, the first activation probe is cleaved by a polymerase having 5′ nuclease activity.
In some aspects, the fourth region of the first cleavable probe comprises one or more ribonucleotides and cleavage of the first cleavage region of the first cleavable probe is performed by RNase HII. In some aspects, cleavage of the first cleavable probe is performed by a restriction enzyme or a nicking enzyme.
In some aspects, the methods are multiplex methods further comprising detecting the presence of a second target nucleic acid wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
In some aspects, step b) further comprises performing an amplification reaction to amplify any second target nucleic acid present in the sample.
In some aspects, the labels on the first and second cleavable probes comprise the same reporter and the first TM and second TM are at least 5 degrees Celsius different, and wherein the first and second hairpins are detected by performing the steps of:
In some aspects, the methods further comprise detecting the presence of a second target nucleic acid in the sample wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
In some aspects, step b) further comprises performing an amplification reaction to amplify any second target nucleic acid present in the sample.
In some aspects, the methods further comprise detecting the presence of the first target nucleic acid or a second distinct target nucleic acid in the sample by detecting the presence of the first hairpin probe, wherein the reagents contacting the sample include a second activation probe having a 5′ first region that is not complementary to the first or second target nucleic acid and is the same as the 5′ first region of the first activation probe, and a second region comprising a first cleavage site, wherein the second region of the second activation probe is complementary to the second target nucleic acid.
In one embodiment, provided herein are methods for detecting a first target nucleic acid in a sample, the method comprising the steps of:
In some aspects, step b) further comprises performing an amplification reaction to amplify any first target nucleic acid present in the sample.
In some aspects, the first region of the conversion probe comprises one or more ribonucleotides. In some aspects, the methods further comprise, following step b)iv), cleaving the modified released first region of the first activation hybridized to the conversion probe.
In some aspects, the methods further comprise detecting the presence of a second target nucleic acid in the sample wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
In some aspects, step b) further comprises performing an amplification reaction to amplify any second target nucleic acid present in the sample.
In some aspects, the methods comprise detecting the presence of the first target nucleic acid or a second distinct target nucleic acid in the sample by detecting the presence of the first hairpin probe, wherein the reagents contacting the sample include a second activation probe having a 5′ first region that is not complementary to the first or second target nucleic acid and is the same as the 5′ first region of the first activation probe, and a second region comprising a first cleavage site, wherein the second region of the second activation probe is complementary to the second target nucleic acid.
In some aspects, the conversion probe further comprises between one and five nucleotides, positioned between the first region and the second region, that are complementary to the first one to five nucleotides of the target nucleic acid.
In some aspects, the conversion probe is further defined as a population of conversion probes, wherein each conversion probe comprises between one and five random nucleotides, positioned between the first region and the second region.
In one embodiment, provided herein are first cleavable probes for detecting a target nucleic acid, the probes comprising from 5′ to 3′, a first region comprising a label, a second region, a loop region comprising a 3′ extension blocker at the 3′ end, a third region that is complementary to at least a portion of the second region, and a fourth region comprising a first cleavage site at the 5′ end, wherein at least a portion of the fourth region 3′ of the cleavage site is complementary to a first region of a first activation probe, wherein the first activation probe comprises from 5′ to 3′, a first region that is not complementary to the target nucleic acid, a second region comprising a first cleavage site, wherein the second region is complementary to the target nucleic acid to be detected.
In some aspects, the label is a first member of a reporter-quencher pair. In some aspects, the label is coupled to a non-natural base. In some aspects, the non-natural base is isoC or isoG. In some aspects, the label comprises a reporter-quencher pair arranged such that the quencher quenches the reporter signal when the first region of the cleavable probe is single stranded.
In some aspects, the first cleavage site of the first cleavable probe comprises at least one ribonucleotide.
In one embodiment, provided herein are kits, or kits of parts, comprising the first cleavable probes of any one of the present embodiments.
In some aspects, the kits further comprises a first activation probe comprising from 5′ to 3′, a first region that is not complementary to the first target nucleic acid, a second region comprising a first cleavage site, wherein the second region is complementary to the first target nucleic acid. In some aspects, the first cleavage site of the first activation probe comprises at least one ribonucleotide.
In some aspects, the kits further comprise a first conversion probe comprising from 5′ to 3′, a first region that has the same sequence as at least a portion of the fourth region of the first cleavable probe and a second region that is complementary to the first region of the first activation probe.
In one embodiment, provided herein are compositions comprising the first cleavable probe of any one of the present embodiments and a first activation probe comprising from 5′ to 3′, a first region that is not complementary to the first target nucleic acid, a second region comprising a first cleavage site, wherein the second region is complementary to the first target nucleic acid. In some aspects, the first cleavage site of the first activation probe comprises at least one ribonucleotide.
In some aspects, the compositions further comprise a first conversion probe comprising from 5′ to 3′, a first region that has the same sequence as at least a portion of the fourth region of the first cleavable probe and a second region that is complementary to the first region of the first activation probe.
In one embodiment, provided herein are methods for detecting a first target nucleic acid in a sample, the method comprising the steps of:
In some aspects, the reporter labeled non-natural nucleotide is one of iso-C or iso-G and the quencher labeled non-natural nucleotide is the other of iso-C or iso-G.
In some aspects, the first cleavable probe comprises an extension blocker at the 3′ end.
In some aspects, step b) further comprises performing an amplification reaction to amplify any first target nucleic acid present in the sample.
In some aspects, the hairpin probe is detected by performing melt analysis. In some aspects, the hairpin probe is detected by detecting signals from the reporter at at least one temperature below the first TM and at at least one temperature above the first TM and detecting the presence of the target nucleic acid when a difference between the signal detected at the at least one temperature below the first TM and the signal detected at the at least one temperature above the first TM is detected.
In some aspects, the first cleavage region of the first cleavable probe comprises one or more ribonucleotides and cleavage is performed by RNase HII. In some aspects, the first cleavage region of the first cleavable probe comprises one strand of an endonuclease cleavage site and cleavage is performed by a restriction enzyme or a nicking enzyme.
In some aspects, the second cleavage region of the first cleavable probe comprises one or more ribonucleotides and cleavage is performed by RNase HII. In some aspects, the second cleavage region of the first cleavable probe comprises one strand of an endonuclease cleavage site and cleavage is performed by a restriction enzyme or a nicking enzyme.
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further demonstrate certain aspects of the present invention. The invention may be better understood by reference to one or more of these drawings in combination with the detailed description of specific embodiments presented herein.
The present invention features compositions and methods for detecting one or more target nucleic acids in a reaction mixture. The compositions and methods may be used for multiplex melt analysis and utilize probes having predetermined TMs that are not dependent on sequences associated with the particular target-nucleic sequences of interest. The compositions and methods described herein provide advantages such as ease of probe design, increased multiplex capability, and improved signal to noise ratios.
In some embodiments, methods and compositions for a detecting a target nucleic acid using a cleavable probe and an activation probe are provided. The cleavable probe is activated as a result of target-dependent cleavage of an activation probe and subsequent hybridization of a released fragment of the activation probe (i.e., a flap probe) to the cleavable probe or hybridization of a conversion probe-modified released fragment of the activation probe to the cleavable probe (i.e., a modified flap probe).
As used herein, the term “sample” generally refers to any material containing or suspected of containing a nucleic acid. A sample may include a bodily tissue or a bodily fluid including but not limited to blood (or a fraction of blood, such as plasma or serum), lymph, mucus, tears, urine, and saliva. A sample may comprise DNA (e.g., genomic DNA), RNA (e.g., mRNA), and/or cDNA, any of which may be amplified to provide an amplified nucleic acid. A sample may comprise material obtained from an environmental locus (e.g., a body of water, soil, and the like) or material obtained from a fomite (i.e., an inanimate object that serves to transfer pathogens from one host to another).
As used herein “nucleic acid” generally refers to a polymeric form of nucleotides of any length (e.g. at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500 or 1000 nucleotides), either deoxyribonucleotides or ribonucleotides or a combination thereof, and any modifications thereof. Modifications include, but are not limited to, those that provide other chemical groups that incorporate additional charge, polarizability, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interaction, and fluxionality to the nucleic acid ligand bases or to the nucleic acid ligand as a whole. Accordingly, the nucleic acids described herein include not only the standard bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T), and uracil (U) but also non-standard or non-natural nucleotides, analogs and derivatives thereof. Non-standard or non-natural nucleotides such as isoC or isoG, are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,432,272, 5,965,364, 6,001,983, 6,037,120, and 6,140,496, all of which are incorporated herein by reference and include bases other than A, G, C, T, or U that can be incorporated into a growing nucleic acid strand by a polymerase and are capable of base-pairing with a complementary non-standard or non-natural nucleotide to form a base pair.
As used herein, “target,” “target sequence” or “target nucleic acid” refers to a nucleic acid sequence of interest. A “target,” “target sequence” or “target nucleic acid” may also be a surrogate nucleic acid sequence that is formed in the presence of a nucleic acid sequence of interest in a sample and is representative of the nucleic acid sequence of interest. The surrogate nucleic acid sequence may be an amplification product or a cleavage product that is generated upon specific binding to a nucleic acid sequence of interest.
An oligonucleotide is a nucleic acid that includes at least two nucleotides. An oligonucleotide may be designed to function as a “primer.” A “primer” is a short nucleic acid, usually a ssDNA oligonucleotide, which may be hybridized to a target nucleic acid by complementary base-pairing. The primer may then be extended along the target nucleic acid template strand by a polymerase enzyme, such as a DNA polymerase enzyme or an RNA polymerase enzyme. Primer pairs can be used for amplification (and identification) of a target nucleic acid sequence (e.g., by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)). An oligonucleotide may be designed to function as a “probe.” A “probe” refers to an oligonucleotide or portions thereof, used to detect complementary target nucleic acid sequences. Probes or primers may include a detectable label. Probes may also be extended by a polymerase using a template nucleic acid. The template nucleic acid may be a partially self-complementary region of the probe or the template may be an independent partially complementary nucleic acid.
A primer or probe that is specific for a target nucleic acid will “hybridize” to the target nucleic acid under suitable conditions. As used herein, “hybridization” or “hybridizing” refers to the process by which an oligonucleotide single strand anneals with a complementary strand through base pairing under defined hybridization conditions. “Specific hybridization” is an indication that two nucleic acid sequences share a high degree of complementarity, and two nucleic acid strands that specifically hybridize are said to be “complementary.” Specific hybridization complexes form under permissive annealing conditions. Permissive conditions for annealing of nucleic acid sequences are routinely determinable by one of ordinary skill in the art and may occur, for example, at 65° C. in the presence of about 6×SSC. Annealing temperatures are typically selected to be about 5° C. to 20° C. lower than the thermal melting point (TM) for the specific sequence at a defined ionic strength and pH. The TM is the temperature (under defined ionic strength and pH) at which 50% of the target sequence hybridizes to a perfectly matched probe. Equations for calculating TM, for example, nearest-neighbor parameters, and conditions for nucleic acid hybridization, are known in the art.
Melt analysis refers to a process by which hybridization between complementary strands of a labeled nucleic acid duplex is reversed and changes in signal are monitored as the strands dissociate. Starting at or below a temperature at which the duplex is stable, the temperature is increased above the duplex TM to a temperature at which all duplex molecules become fully dissociated. The hybridization state of the duplex can be monitored through changes in signal such as those from a fluorophore and quencher pair as the duplex dissociates, and plotted as a function of relative fluorescence units (RFUs) versus temperature. In a plot of the negative derivative of RFU versus temperature (i.e. a melt curve), the TM may be calculated from the peak of the curve. Ideally, signals are collected at relatively small temperature increments (for example every 0.5° C.), particularly within close range of the TM, to generate sufficient data points to calculate an accurate TM. In some cases, reassociation analysis may be performed rather than melt analysis. In reassociation analysis, the starting temperature is one at which the duplex is dissociated and signal is measured as the temperature is lowered to a temperature at which the duplex reassociates. While this application uses the term melt analysis to describe the monitoring of the hybridization state of the duplex as the temperature changes, a person skilled in the art understands that reassociation analysis may be substituted for melt analysis in the method of the invention. Melt analysis may not always require the determination of an accurate TM of a duplex. In some situations, it may only be necessary to detect signal from a target duplex at a temperature at which all target duplexes are double stranded and a temperature at which all target duplexes are single stranded. A difference in signal at these two detection temperatures indicates that the duplex has transitioned from duplex to single strand conformation at the selected temperature interval.
As used herein, “amplification” or “amplifying” refers to the production of additional copies of a nucleic acid sequence or a target sequence. Amplification may be carried out using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or other amplification technologies known in the art, such as isothermal amplification. The term “amplification reaction mixture” refers to an aqueous solution comprising the various reagents used to amplify a target nucleic acid. These may include enzymes (e.g., a thermostable polymerase), aqueous buffers, salts, amplification primers, target nucleic acid, nucleoside triphosphates, and optionally, at least one labeled probe and/or optionally, at least one agent for determining the melting temperature of an amplified target nucleic acid (e.g., a fluorescent intercalating agent that exhibits a change in fluorescence in the presence of double-stranded nucleic acid). In some embodiments, one or more primers or probes in the amplification mixture are labeled with a reporter that emits a detectable signal (e.g., a fluorophore). In some embodiments, the amplification mixture may include at least one nucleotide that is labeled with a quencher (e.g., Dabcyl). In some embodiments the probe may include both a fluorophore and a quencher.
As used herein, “digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR)” refers to an amplification reaction where a sample is separated into a large number of partitions and the reaction is carried out in each partition individually. dPCR involves partitioning the sample such that individual nucleic acid molecules contained in the sample are localized in many separate regions, such as in individual wells in microwell plates or micropartitions, in the dispersed phase of an emulsion, or arrays of nucleic acid binding surfaces. Ideally, the majority of partitions will contain 0 or 1 copy of a target nucleic acid of interest, providing a negative or positive reaction, respectively. Unlike conventional PCR, dPCR is not dependent on the number of amplification cycles to determine the initial amount of the target nucleic acid in the sample. Accordingly, dPCR eliminates the reliance on exponential data to quantify target nucleic acids and provides absolute quantification. Bead emulsion PCR, which clonally amplifies nucleic acids on beads in an emulsion, is one example of a dPCR technique in which the reactions are portioned into droplets. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,048,627 and 7,842,457, which are hereby incorporated by reference. When dPCR is performed in an emulsion, the emulsion should be heat stable to allow it to withstand thermal cycling conditions. In contrast, devices designed to form compartments or partitions in a static array on a planar surface may be used to perform dPCR. For example, WO2018094091, incorporated herein by reference, describes a device that directs fluids into partitions and subsequently isolates partitions from each other. Several other ways of forming static arrays or reaction chambers are have been described, for example as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,039,993, 9,643,178 PCT/US2003/041356, EP2906348 and Du et. al. “SlipChip” Lab on a Chip 9 (16):2286.
As used herein, a “3′ extension blocker” is a moiety associated with the 3′ terminal nucleotide of an oligonucleotide that prevents polymerase-mediated extension of the 3′ end. A 3′ extension blocker may be, without limitation, any of the following modified: 3′ddC, 3′ Inverted dT, 3′ C3 spacer, 3′ Amino, and 3′ phosphorylation.
As used herein, “reporters” or “labels” are chemical or biochemical moieties useful for labeling an oligonucleotide or nucleic acid. “Reporters” or “labels” include fluorescent agents, chemiluminescent agents, chromogenic agents, quenching agents, radionuclides, enzymes, substrates, cofactors, scintillation agents, inhibitors, magnetic particles, and other moieties known in the art. “Labels” or “reporters” are capable of generating a measurable signal and may be covalently or noncovalently coupled to an oligonucleotide or nucleotide using methods known in the art.
As used herein, a “fluorescent dye” or a “fluorophore” is a chemical group that can be excited by light to emit fluorescence at a given wavelength or range of wavelengths. Dyes that may be used in the disclosed methods include, but are not limited to, fluorophores such as ALEXA FLUOR™ dyes, Fluorescein, HEX™ or AQUAPHLUOR® and others known to those skilled in the art.
The oligonucleotides and nucleotides of the disclosed methods may be labeled with a quencher, suitable for quenching fluorescence of a fluorophore. Quenching may include dynamic quenching (e.g., by FRET), static quenching, or both.
A. Activation Probes
The activation probe used in the method has a 5′ first region that is not complementary to the target sequence but is complementary to a portion of a cleavable probe or a conversion probe, and a 3′ second region that is complementary to at least a portion of the target nucleic acid sequence and includes a cleavage region (
Target binding-dependent cleavage at the cleavage site of the activation probe may be accomplished in a variety of ways known in the art (
Other methods known in the art to cleave the 5′ non-target hybridizing region of an activation probe from the 3′ target hybridizing region of the activation probe include enzymatic cleavage of RNA:DNA hybrids (
As mentioned above, depending on the type of cleavage event and nuclease, the released flap probe may include between one and four target-specific nucleotides at its 3′ end. The number of target-specific nucleotides at the 3′ end of the released flap probe will depend on the method of cleavage. For the invader assay cleavage, it is expected that only one target-specific nucleotide will remain after cleavage. For endoribonuclease cleavage, it is expected that at least three target specific nucleotides could remain after cleavage, but the number can vary depending on where the ribonucleotide is located in the probe. For 5′ nuclease cleavage, the number of target specific nucleotides remaining can vary from one to four nucleotides.
B. Cleavable Probes
Cleavable probes for use in the methods have, from 5′ to 3′, a first region that includes a label, a second region, a loop region that has an extension blocker at its 3′ end, a third region that is capable of hybridizing with the second region, a cleavage region, and a fourth region (
Following release of a cleaved flap probe from the activation probe through target binding-dependent cleavage of the activation probe, the flap probe may hybridize with the fourth region of the cleavable probe, where it can be extended by polymerase, using the cleavable probe as a template, towards the 3′ extension blocker at the 3′ end of the loop region. This creates a cleavage site within the cleavage region between the fourth region and the third region (
Cleavage of the cleavable probe may be achieved in a number of ways. For example, the cleavable probe may comprise one or more ribonucleotide(s) at the 5′ end of the fourth region. In this example, the released flap probe hybridizes to the fourth region of the cleavable probe at a position downstream of the ribonucleotide(s) and is extended by polymerase towards the 3′ extension blocker at the 3′ end of the loop region of the cleavable probe to create an RNA:DNA hybrid cleavage site for cleavage by RNase HII, as shown in
As another example, the cleavable probe may comprise one strand of a restriction enzyme or nicking enzyme recognition sequence overlapping the junction between the third region and the fourth region (
Examples of nicking endonucleases that may be used to cleave a double stranded cleavage site include, without limitation, Nb.BbvCI, Nb.BsmK, Nb.BsrDI, Nb.BssSI, Nb.BtsI, Nt.AIwI, Nt.BbvCI, Nt,BsmAI, Nt.BspQI, Nt.BstNBI, and Nt.CviPII.
Suitable labeling schemes can be incorporated into the cleavable probes to enable performing a melt analysis of the hairpin probes. For example, the label associated with the 5′ end of the first region may be a fluorescent reporter-quencher pair that adopts a random coil configuration in the absence of target nucleic acid (
The activation probes and cleavable probes may be included in a reaction mixture that includes reagents suitable for amplification to generate an amplicon. Typical reagents for inclusion in a PCR amplification include DNA polymerases, dNTPs, and primers suitable for amplifying the target nucleic acid of interest. The reaction mixture may also include the requisite nucleases required for cleavage at the first cleavage site of the target nucleic acid-hybridized activation probe and the first cleavage site of the cleavable probe following flap probe-hybridization and extension.
Detecting the presence of the target nucleic acid involves detecting the presence of the hairpin probe having a predetermined TM. The hairpin probe may be detected by performing melt analysis after amplification. In some embodiments, melt analysis may comprise subjecting the amplification reaction comprising the probe to small, incremental temperature increases (typically 0.1-0.5° C. per minute) while fluorescence is monitored continuously. In some embodiments, at temperatures below the hairpin's TM, the fluorescent label of the hairpin probe is quenched by the quencher of the hairpin probe, and fluorescence increases slowly until the temperature approaches and passes the hairpin's TM, enabling calculation of the hairpin probe's TM. In some embodiments, at temperatures below the hairpin's TM, the fluorescent label of the hairpin probe is not quenched by the quencher of the hairpin probe, and fluorescence decreases slowly until the temperature approaches and passes the hairpin's TM, enabling calculation of the hairpin probe's TM. In some embodiments, melt analysis may comprise detecting signals from the label at at least one temperature below the predetermined TM and at least one temperature above the predetermined TM for each probe in the reaction, but without requiring calculation of the TM of each hairpin probe. In the presence of its cognate target nucleic acid, each hairpin probe will exhibit distinguishable signals at each of these temperatures. If multiple probes in the reaction are labeled with the same reporter but have sufficiently different predetermined TM values, detecting a signal at a temperature below and a temperature above the predetermined TM for each probe in the reaction at a series of non-overlapping temperature intervals enables the identification of melt profiles of hairpin probes in the reaction. In this way, it is possible to identify which of a number of different target nucleic acids is present in a reaction mixture or sample. Melt analysis can thus be utilized to identify the particular hairpin probe responsible for a detected change in signal depending on the temperature interval at which the change is detected.
C. Universal Cleavable Probes
A universal cleavable probe may be used to detect multiple different target nucleic acid sequences. In some clinical applications of nucleic acid detection, more than one target nucleic acid sequence of interest, for example multiple SNPs, may indicate the same clinical outcome, for example resistance to a chemotherapy drug or antibiotic. In these situations, while it is important for clinicians to be able to distinguish wild type sequence from variant sequences, it may not always be important to distinguish the identity of each and every variant sequence. Using a single universal probe that is representative of multiple variant nucleotides in a target nucleic acid would be beneficial, especially in a multiplex scenario as it would reduce the number of distinct probes in the reaction mixture and would increase the signal to noise ratio in the reaction, especially in detection schemes that rely on quenching of a fluorescent reporter in the presence of target nucleic acids.
First and second activation probes that specifically hybridize to respective first and second target nucleic acids may comprise the same 5′ first region that is not complementary to either the first or second target nucleic acid but is complementary to the fourth region of a universal cleavable probe. The first and second activation probes comprise 3′ target-hybridizing regions, each specific for a respective first or second target nucleic acid. Optionally, the first and second activation probes may include a 3′ extension blocker that prevents polymerase extension of the activation probe from the 3′ terminal nucleotide of the second region. Under specific hybridization conditions and in the presence of the first and second target nucleic acids, hybridization of the second region of each of the first and second activation probes to their respective first or second target nucleic acids occurs. As a result, target binding-dependent cleavage occurs at the cleavage site to release essentially the same flap probe from each of the different activation probes. Each flap probe comprises the same 5′ first region and between one and four nucleotide(s) of the 3′ second region, which may be the same or different for each flap probe depending on the target sequence.
As discussed for the activation probes described in Section A, target binding-dependent cleavage of the activation probe(s) may occur in a variety of ways. In some embodiments, activation probes may be cleaved in an invader assay cleavage event. In other embodiments, activation probes may include a ribobase in the target-complementary region and cleavage is due to an endoribonuclease present in the reaction. In other embodiments, cleavage may occur as a result of extension of an upstream primer by a polymerase having 5′ nuclease activity.
As mentioned above, for the invader assay cleavage, it is expected that only one target-specific nucleotide will remain on the flap probe after cleavage of the activation probe. Thus, when cleavage occurs as a result of an invader assay cleavage event, or any other cleavage method that results in one target-specific nucleotide remaining on the flap probe, a population of universal cleavable probes may be used. This population of universal cleavable probes will have identical fourth regions complementary to the 5′ non-target hybridizing region of the activation probes and a degenerate nucleotide at the 5′ end of the identical fourth regions. All four nucleotides may be represented at this position across different activation probes such that each flap probe will be able to hybridize to and be extended using one of the members of the population of universal cleavable probes as a template, regardless of the identity of the target-specific nucleotide present at the 3′ end of the flap probe.
Alternatively, activation probes may be grouped such that those that recognize multiple different target nucleic acids, but result in a cleaved flap probe having a 3′ A/T base pair, all have the same 5′ non-target hybridizing region/flap sequence that is complementary to the same universal cleavable probe. Similarly, flap probes that recognize multiple different target nucleic acids, but result in a cleaved flap probe ending in a G/C base pair may be grouped together and have the same 5′ non-target hybridizing region complementary to the same universal probe. In this way different target nucleic acid sequences having similar clinical utility can be represented by signal originating from a single population of universal cleavable probes within a group of different populations of cleavable probes, wherein each population has a representative multidimensional signature comprised of a unique reporter wavelength and a unique melt profile.
For cleavage methods that result in more than one target-specific nucleotide remaining on the flap probe, the above concept can be extended such that two or more nucleotides immediately 5′ of the region that is complementary to the 5′ non-target hybridizing region of the activation probes may be a degenerate nucleotide. However, it may be desirable to modify the flap probe prior to hybridizing to the universal cleavable probe so that the need to include degeneracy in the cleavable probe is reduced or eliminated.
One way to accomplish the modification is to use a conversion probe, as shown in
Use of conversion probes as described herein enables the conversion of distinct unlabeled flap probes that hybridize to different unique target genomic sequences to a common flap probe that hybridizes to a single cognate cleavage probe and thus generate a single melt signature. This increases the statistics in the reaction without sacrificing the signal to noise ratio of the reaction, since many distinct targets can be detected with the same labeled probe
D. Dark Cleavable Probes
Many probe systems used in nucleic acid detection utilize fluorescent reporters in combination with quenchers. In one of the hairpin probe systems described in WO2016/025452, the probe is labeled with a fluorescent reporter attached to a non-natural nucleotide. In the presence of target nucleic acid, the probe is modified to incorporate a complementary non-natural nucleotide labeled with a quencher capable of quenching the reporter signal. While this probe system enables the use of multiple different probes labeled with the same reporter in a single multiplex reaction by virtue of the fact that they can be distinguished by their unique melt profiles, the presence of the fluorescent reporter on unreacted probes results in high background fluorescence in the reaction. This presents particular challenges in the context of multiplex assays in which only one of a number of different target nucleic acids may be present in a sample and target nucleic acids are identified by melt analysis. In this situation, only one probe type will show a change in signal during melt analysis against a background of multiple fluorescent unreacted probe types. An alternative probe system may allow unreacted probes to remain quenched, while probes that have been modified due to the presence of their target nucleic acids in the sample are unquenched, and thus are capable of emitting distinguishable fluorescent signals to support performing melt analysis.
For example, compositions and methods for detecting nucleic acids are provided that make use of fluorescently labeled probes that remain quenched in the absence of their target nucleic acids, but are modified in the presence of their target nucleic acids to provide a unique melt profile that can be used to identify the presence of the target nucleic acid. The method utilizes a dark cleavable probe comprising the structure of the cleavable probes described above in section B, and further comprising a fifth region positioned at the 5′ end of the cleavable probe. The fifth region comprises a cleavage region and a quencher positioned 5′ of the cleavage region (
The dark cleavable probe may be included in a reaction mixture comprising the target nucleic acid, activation probes, and reagents for amplification of the target nucleic acid and cleavage of cleavage regions formed by hybridization of the activation probe to the target nucleic acid and extension of the flap probe on the dark cleavable probe. During amplification, conditions are provided for the flap probe to specifically hybridize to the fourth region of the dark cleavable probe and be extended to create a cleavage site (
In another embodiment, a dark cleavable probe can be designed such that the target nucleic acid hybridizes directly to the dark cleavable probe. In this case, the dark cleavable probe is designed so that the fourth region and at least 3 nucleotides at the 3′ end of the third region are complementary to the target nucleic acid. With this design, hybridization of the target nucleic acid to the dark cleavable probe will convert the cleavage region between the third and fourth regions of the dark cleavable probe into a cleavage site. Thus, when the target nucleic acid hybridizes to the dark cleavable probe, the cleavage site is cleaved to release the target nucleic acid hybridized to the complementary regions of the dark cleavable probe, allowing the truncated dark probe to self-hybridize and extend on itself from the newly formed 3′ end. Extension of the 3′ end creates a second cleavage site at the position of the cleavage region within the fifth region, resulting in cleavage by a ribonuclease and release of the quencher positioned 5′ to the cleavage region within the fifth region. The resultant hairpin probe is suitable for performing melt analysis and can be designed to have a predetermined TM by varying the nucleotide content and length of each hairpin stem. The target nucleic acid is detected by detecting the presence of the hairpin probe, which may be detected by performing melt analysis.
Cleavable Probes with PCR
The following experiment was performed to demonstrate cleavage of a ribonucleotide-containing activation probe in the presence of a target nucleic acid during PCR, and subsequent hybridization to a cleavable probe, followed by extension to generate a cleavage site in the cleavable probe. This resulted in cleavage and extension of the cleavable probe to form a detectable hairpin probe. Melt analysis was performed after the PCR reaction.
TGACCTGCTGC/3
TGACCTGCTGC/3S
Primers and target sequences used for PCR amplification were as follows:
The amplification mixture contained 10 mM Tris, 20 mM Bis-tris propane (BTP), 300 μg/mL BSA, 0.09 mM DTT, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM dNTPs, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 1× Titanium Taq Polymerase (Takara Biosciences), 16.2 mU/μL RNase HII (Takara Biosciences), 100 nM of JET401 oligonucleotide primer, 400 nM LH1375 oligonucleotide primer, and 50 nM of the Fam-labeled Cleavable Probe-01B. Activation Probe 1 oligos, when present, were at a concentration of 50 nM. The target nucleic acid (TW661) was spiked into the reaction at 10,000 copies or not at all in the NTC (no template control).
Thermal cycling was performed on an ABI 7500 Fast system (Thermo Fisher) at a final volume of 25 uL with the following conditions: 1 cycle of 2 min 20 s at 95° C.; 60 cycles of the following: 10 s at 95° C., 20 s at 58° C.
Measurements of the signal in the reaction were taken during PCR at the 58° C. stage of each cycle and after PCR at 0.5° C. increments starting at 60° C. and end at 95° C.
The reaction mixtures containing target, cleavable probe, and activation probe resulted in a decrease in FAM signal starting around cycle 30 during PCR and continuing to decrease throughout the PCR (
Other conditions that did not have target present, or did not have activation probe present did not exhibit a change in signal during PCR, did not have a positive melt peak, and did not show a change in signal between 60° C. and 68° C. (
When Activation Probe 1 was replaced with AP-NR-Ctrl (the same as Activation Probe 1 except that the ribobase was replaced with DNA only) also did not exhibit a change in signal during PCR or after PCR during the melt analysis (
Cleavable Probes with dPCR
The following experiment was performed to demonstrate cleavage of a ribonucleotide-containing activation probe in the presence of a target nucleic acid during digital PCR (dPCR), and subsequent hybridization to a cleavable probe, followed by extension to generate a cleavage site in the cleavable probe. This resulted in cleavage and extension of the cleavable probe to form a detectable hairpin probe. Melt analysis was performed after the dPCR reaction.
TGACCTGCTGC/3
Primers and target sequences used for PCR amplification were as follows:
The amplification mixture contained 10 mM Tris, 20 mM Bis-tris propane (BTP), 300 μg/mL BSA, 0.09 mM DTT, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM dNTPs, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 2×Titanium Taq Polymerase (Takara Biosciences), 44.8 mU/μL RNase HII (Takara Biosciences), 100 nM of JET401 oligonucleotide primer, 400 nM LH1375 oligonucleotide primer, and 1200 nM of the Fam-labeled Cleavable Probe-01B. Activation Probe 1 oligos were at a concentration of 50 nM. The target nucleic acid (TW661) was spiked into the reaction at 1,000 copies or not at all in the NTC (no template control).
Digitization and thermal cycling were performed on an Applied Biosystems QuantStudio Absolute Q Digital PCR System. 9 μL of reaction mixture was transferred to the well of a MAP16 consumable and covered with 15 μL of Isolation Buffer (Applied Biosystems). Gaskets were appended to each well and the consumable was transferred to the dPCR system. The consumable was pressurized at 75 psi for 25 min and held at 50 psi to load and digitize the sample across approximately 20,000 partitions. Amplification was performed by pre-heating the consumable at 96° C. for 10 min., followed by 49 cycles of the following: 5 s at 93° C., 20 s at 60° C.; pressure was maintained at 50 psi throughout the PCR reaction. A 10 min isothermal hold at 55° C. was incorporated after PCR, but before imaging. After thermal cycling, Combinati analysis software was used to locate and identify partitions within the unit and to acquire images of partitions at 50° C. (T1), 72° C. (T2), 81° C. (T3), and 92° C. (T4) with optical filters set to preferentially obtain fluorescence values for the FAM-AP fluorophore. Ratios were calculated for fluorescence signals measured at successive temperatures and plotted on a 1D amplitude plot. The detectable hairpin probe formed from Cleavable Probe 01B after cleavage by Activation Probe 1 has a TM of 63.5° C. and was thus expected to show maximum change in fluorescence (ratio >1) between T1 and T2.
The reaction mixture containing 1200 nM Cleavable probe and 50 nM Activation probe resulted in a decrease in FAM signal between T1 (50° C.) and T2 (72° C.), resulting in a clear positive population in the 1D amplitude plot (
Universal Cleavable Probes with Invader Cleavage
In this example, two separate targets can be detected with a single Cleavable Probe. Forward and Reverse primers 1, amplify target 1 to create an amplicon, which Activation Probe 1-Inv and Invader 1 react with to cleave Activation Probe 1-Inv. The cleaved Activation Probe 1-Inv (i.e., Flap Probe 1-Inv) can now extend along the Cleavable Probe-Inv since it has an extensible 3′-OH group that is complimentary to the Cleavable Probe-Inv.
Forward and Reverse primers 2, can amplify target 2 to create an amplicon, which Activation Probe 2-Inv reacts with along with the Reverse primer 2 (also acting as an invader oligo) to cleave Activation Probe 2-Inv. The cleaved Activation Probe 2-Inv (i.e., Flap Probe 2-Inv) can now extend along the same Cleavable Probe-Inv since it has an extensible 3′-OH group that is complimentary to the Cleavable Probe-Inv, where it stops extending at the extension blocker. Because Activation Probe 2-Inv extended beyond the ribobase of Cleavable Probe-Inv, Cleavable Probe-Inv can now be cleaved at the ribobase via the RNaseHII enzyme. After the Cleavable Probe-Inv is cleaved, it can then denature and rehybridize to self during the denaturation and annealing phases of the next PCR cycle. When it rehybridizes to self, it can extend along itself, where it can attach a quencher across from the fluorophore via the dabcyl-isoGtp nucleoside quencher. This will cause a decrease in fluorescence during the reaction, and a specific melt signature during a melt analysis after PCR. A melt analysis is done by observing the signal in the reaction at more than 1 temperature. This demonstrates that a single cleavable probe can identify and quantify more than one target in a qPCR or digital PCR reaction.
Universal cleavable probe reactions can be performed using 400 nM of each of the primers and each activation probe, 100 nmol/L invasive oligo, 50 nM of the cleavable probe, 6.675 ng/μL cleavase 2.0 (Hologic), 1 U hotstart GoTaq polymerase (Promega), 11.2 mU RNaseH2, 20 mmol/L BTP pH 9.1, 10 mmol/L Tris pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 5 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.3 mg/nL non-acetylated BSA, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 0.09 mmol/L DTT, and 250 μmol/L of each dNTP.
Cycling conditions can consist of 95° C. for 3 min; 10 cycles at 95° C. for 20 s, 67° C. for 30 s, and 70° C. for 30 s; 37 cycles at 95° C. for 20 s, 53° C. for 1 min, and 70° C. for 30 s; and 40° C. hold for 30 s.
Primers, probes, and target sequences used for are as follows:
Cleavable Probes with Conversion Probes
In this example, two separate targets can be detected with a single Cleavable Probe following modification of the Flap Probes using Conversion Probes. Forward and Reverse primers 1 amplify target 1 to create an amplicon, which Activation Probe 1 reacts with, resulting in the cleavage of Activation Probe 1. The cleaved Activation Probe 1 (i.e., Flap Probe 1) can now extend along the Conversion Probe 1 since it has an extensible 3′-OH group that is complimentary to the Conversion Probe 1. After extension of Flap Probe 1 along Conversion Probe 1, the modified Flap Probe 1 can now hybridize to, and extend along Cleavable Probe 1, where it stops at the extension blocker. Because modified Flap Probe 1 extended beyond the ribobase of Cleavable Probe 1, Cleavable Probe 1 can now be cleaved at the ribobase. After the cleavable probe is cleaved, it can then denature and rehybridize to itself during the denaturation and annealing phases of the next PCR cycle. When it rehybridizes to itself, it can extend along itself, where it can attach a quencher across from the fluorophore via the dabcyl-isoGtp nucleoside quencher. This will cause a decrease in fluorescence during the reaction, and a specific melt signature during a melt analysis after PCR. A melt analysis is done by observing the signal in the reaction at more than 1 temperature.
Forward and Reverse primers 2 amplify target 2 to create an amplicon, which Activation Probe 2 reacts with to cleave Activation Probe 2. The cleaved Activation Probe 2 (i.e., Flap Probe 2) can now extend along Conversion Probe 2 to form modified Flap Probe 2. Subsequently, modified Flap Probe 2 can extend along the same Cleavable Probe 1 since it has an extensible 3′-OH group that is complimentary to the Cleavable Probe 1. This demonstrates that a single multiprobe can identify and quantify more than one target in a qPCR or digital PCR reaction.
The conversion probe may also comprise a few ribobases, such that during extension of the flap probe along the conversion probe, the polymerase adds bases opposite the ribobases, forming a cleavage site where the conversion probe is cleaved. This reduces competition in the reaction between the conversion probe and the cleavable probe for binding to the modified flap probe, in order to favor hybridization of the modified flap probe to the cleavable probe.
Universal cleavable probe reactions can be performed using 400 nM of each of the forward primer and 100 nM of the reverse primer and activation probes, 50 nM of each cleavable probe, 6.675 ng/μL cleavase 2.0 (Hologic), 1 U hotstart GoTaq polymerase (Promega), 11.2 mU RNaseH2, 20 mmol/L BTP pH 9.1, 10 mmol/L Tris pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 5 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.3 mg/nL non-acetylated BSA, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 0.09 mmol/L DTT, and 250 μmol/L of each dNTP.
Cycling conditions can consist of 95° C. for 3 min; 45 cycles at 95° C. for 10 s, 54° C. for 1 s, and 57° C. for 23 s.
Primers, probes, and target sequences used for are as follows:
Cleavable Probes with 5′ Nuclease Cleavage of the Activation Probe
The following experiment will be performed to demonstrate cleavage of an activation probe using the 5′ exonuclease activity of a polymerase in the presence of a target nucleic acid during PCR, and subsequent hybridization to a cleavable probe, followed by extension to generate a cleavage site in the cleavable probe. This is expected to result in cleavage and extension of the cleavable probe to form a detectable hairpin probe. Melt analysis will be performed after the PCR reaction.
Activation and cleavable probe reactions can be performed using 400 nM of each of the primers and detection probes, 50 nM of each cleavable probe, 1 U hotstart GoTaq polymerase (Promega), 11.2 mU RNaseH2, 20 mmol/L BTP pH 9.1, 10 mmol/L Tris pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 5 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.3 mg/nL non-acetylated BSA, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 0.09 mmol/L DTT, and 250 μmol/L of each dNTP.
Cycling conditions may consist of 95° C. for 3 min; 10 cycles at 95° C. for 20 s, 67° C. for 30 s, and 70° C. for 30 s; 37 cycles at 95° C. for 20 s, 53° C. for 1 min, and 70° C. for 30 s; and 40° C. hold for 30 s.
Primers, probes, and target sequences used for are as follows:
The following example demonstrates cleavage of a ribonucleotide-containing activation probe in the presence of a target nucleic acid during PCR, and subsequent hybridization to a cleavable probe, followed by extension to generate a restriction endonuclease enzyme recognition site in the cleavable probe. The recognition site for the BstB1 nicking enzyme is 5′TT*CGAA where * marks the cleavage site. And the reverse strand is 3′AAGC*TT. This is expected to result in cleavage and extension of the cleavable probe to form a detectable hairpin probe. Melt analysis will be performed after the PCRreaction. This reaction may be used with or without 300 μM Sp-dATP-α-S alpha thiol modified dNTP. A double stranded break will occur without the phosphorothioate (PTO) linkage, and a single stranded break on the cleavable probe 01bres will occur with the extended PTO strand.
TGACCTGCTGC/3
Primers and target sequences used for PCR amplification are as follows:
The amplification mixture may contain 10 mM Tris, 20 mM Bis-tris propane (BTP), 300 μg/mL BSA, 0.09 mM DTT, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM dNTPs, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 1×Titanium Taq Polymerase (Takara Biosciences), 16.2 mU/μL RNase HII (Takara Biosciences), 12U BstB1, 100 nM of JET401 oligonucleotide primer, 400 nM LH1375 oligonucleotide primer, and 50 nM of the Fam-labeled Cleavable Probe-01Bnic. Activation Probe 1nic oligos, are at a concentration of 50 nM. The target nucleic acid (TW661) was spiked into the reaction at 10,000 copies or not at all in the NTC (no template control).
Thermal cycling may be performed on an ABI 7500 Fast system (Thermo Fisher) at a final volume of 25 uL with the following conditions: 1 cycle of 2 min 20 s at 95° C.; 60 cycles of the following: 10 s at 95° C., 20 s at 58° C.
Measurements of the signal in the reaction will be taken during PCR at the 58° C. stage of each cycle and after PCR at 0.5° C. increments starting at 60° C. and end at 95° C.
The reaction mixtures containing target, cleavable probe, and activation probe are expected to result in a decrease in FAM signal during PCR and continuing to decrease throughout the PCR. Melt analysis performed after PCR is expected to show a positive melt peak with a TM (melting temperature) of 64° C. The FAM signal at 60° C. is expected to be significantly less than the FAM signal at 68° C. for this condition.
Other conditions that do not have target present, or do not have activation probe present would not be expected to exhibit a change in signal during PCR, would not have a positive melt peak, and would not show a change in signal between 60° C. and 68° C.
A comparison of the signal:noise ratio in a multiplex reaction using unquenched cleavable probes that show maximal fluorescence in the absence of target nucleic acid versus cleavable probes whose fluorescence is quenched in the absence of target nucleic acid (also referred to as dark cleavable probes) was made. Target nucleic acid and cleavable probes were added to a reaction mixture suitable for performing digital PCR and partitioning was performed on an absolute Q digital PCR system (Combinati) having 20,000 partitions per well. Signals were detected using the Combinati Q system.
In order to ascertain the signal:noise improvement provided by a dark cleavable probe population specific for a particular target nucleic acid against various concentrations of different unquenched cleavable probes populations whose targets are not present in the reaction, the dark cleavable probes were present at a concentration of 300 nM, while the different unquenched cleavable probes whose targets were not present in the reaction were included at varying concentrations. Dark cleavable probes and unquenched cleavable probes were each compared in reactions comprising cognate target nucleic acid in a background of dark cleavable probes and unquenched cleavable probes for which no cognate target nucleic acid was present. The relative concentrations of target nucleic acid specific probes to non-target specific probes were as follows:
Asymmetric amplification was performed using 400 nM excess primer and 100 nM limiting primer, 300 nM dark target-specific cleavable probes or 300 nM unquenched target-specific cleavable probes, and the indicated concentrations of dark or unquenched non-target specific probes, 2 U hotstart TiTaq polymerase (Takara), 64 mU RNaseHII, 10 mmol/L Bis-tris propane (BTP) pH 9.1, 10 mmol/L BTP pH 8.0, 10 mmol/L Tris pH 8.3, 50 mM KCl, 2.5 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.3 mg/nL non-acetylated Bovine Serum Albumin, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 0.09 mmol/L dithiothreitol, and 250 p mol/L of each dNTP.
The sequences of the primers, probes, and target nucleic acid used in the reaction were as follows:
Cycling conditions consisted of 95° C. for 3 min, 45 cycles at 95° C. for 10 s, 54° C. for 1 s, 57° C. for 23 s. Images were taken of each digital PCR reaction using the camera in the Absolute Q system at various temperatures (e.g., 55° C. and 90° C.) using the filter and LED settings appropriate for each dye. A ratio of image intensity at the two temperatures was calculated for each partition and plotted on a 1 dimensional plot. Signal to noise ratios were determined by comparing the population of negative partitions to the population of positive partitions in each reaction. The variability of each population as well as the separation of the positive and negative populations are calculated using techniques known in the art. Specifically, the RES calculation is equal to the difference between the mean of the positive and negative partitions divided by the average standard deviation of the positive and negative partitions.
The following experiment was performed to demonstrate cleavage of an activation probe in the presence of a target nucleic acid during PCR using a DNA polymerase with exonuclease activity, and subsequent hybridization to a cleavable probe, followed by an extension to generate a cleavage site in the cleavable probe. This resulted in cleavage and extension of the cleavable probe to form a detectable hairpin probe. Melt analysis was performed after PCR.
The amplification mixture contained 10 mM Tris, 20 mM Bis-tris propane (BTP), 300 μg/mL BSA, 0.09 mM DTT, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM dNTPs, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 1 U/uL Phoenix Taq polymerase (Enzymatics), 16.2 mU/μL RNase HII (Takara Biosciences), 400 nM each of the LH1375 and LH1373 oligonucleotide primers, and 200 nM of the Fam-labeled Cleavable probe L003-G_ECO1.1. Activation Probe oligos, when present, were at a concentration of 200 nM. The target nucleic acid (TW660) was spiked into the reaction at 10,000 copies or not at all in the NTC (no template control).
Thermal cycling was performed on an ABI 7500 Fast system (Thermo Fisher) at a final volume of 25 uL with the following conditions: 1 cycle of 2 min 20 s at 95° C.; 50 cycles of the following: 10 s at 95° C., 23 s at 56° C.
Measurements of the signal in the reaction were taken during PCR at the 56° C. stage of each cycle and after PCR at 0.5° C. increments starting at 60° C. and end at 95° C.
The reaction mixtures containing target, cleavable probe, and activation probe resulted in a decrease in FAM signal starting around cycle 28 during PCR and continuing to decrease throughout the PCR (
The following experiment was performed to demonstrate cleavage of an activation probe containing an internal C3 spacer in the presence of a target nucleic acid during thermal cycling, and subsequent hybridization to a cleavable probe, followed by an extension to generate a cleavage site in the cleavable probe. The presence of a C3 spacer within the activation probe sequence did not inhibit cleavage and extension of the cleavable probe to form a detectable hairpin probe. Melt analysis was performed after PCR.
Primers and target sequences used for PCR amplification were as follows:
The amplification mixture for standard PCR contained 10 mM Tris, 20 mM Bis-tris propane (BTP), 300 μg/mL BSA, 0.09 mM DTT, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM dNTPs, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 2×Titanium Taq Polymerase (Takara Biosciences), 16.2 mU/μL RNase HII (Takara Biosciences), 100 nM of JET401 oligonucleotide primer, 400 nM LH1375 oligonucleotide primer, and 200 nM of the Fam-labeled Cleavable probe M001.2-P_ECO1.1. Activation Probe oligos, when present, were at a concentration of 200 nM. The target nucleic acid (TW671) was spiked into the reaction at 10,000 copies or not at all in the NTC (no template control).
Thermal cycling was performed on an ABI 7500 Fast system (Thermo Fisher) at a final volume of 25 uL with the following conditions: 1 cycle of 2 min 20 s at 95° C.; 50 cycles of the following: 10 s at 95° C., 23 s at 56° C. Measurements of the signal in the reaction were taken during PCR at the 56° C. stage of each cycle and after PCR at 0.5° C. increments starting at 60° C. and end at 95° C. The presence or absence of a melt signal was used to evaluate reaction positivity.
In real-time PCR (
The amplification mixture for digital PCR contained 10 mM Tris, 20 mM Bis-tris propane (BTP), 300 μg/mL BSA, 0.09 mM DTT, 2.5 mM MgCl2, 50 mM KCl, 0.1 mM dNTPs, 1 μM Dabcyl-diGTP, 2×Titanium Taq Polymerase (Takara Biosciences), 44.8 mU/μL RNase HII (Takara Biosciences), 100 nM of JET401 oligonucleotide primer, 400 nM LH1375 oligonucleotide primer, 200 nM of the Fam-labeled Cleavable probe M001.2-P_ECO1.1, 200 nM each of the Fam-labeled cleavable probes L003_D538G_ECO1.1 and M001.2_S463P_ECO1.1 as signal background. Activation Probe 1 oligos were at a concentration of 200 nM. The target nucleic acid (TW671) was spiked into the reaction at approximately 3,000 copies or not at all in the NTC (no template control).
Digitization and thermal cycling were performed on an Applied Biosystems QuantStudio Absolute Q Digital PCR System. 9 μL of reaction mixture was transferred to the well of a MAP16 consumable and covered with 15 μL of Isolation Buffer (Applied Biosystems). Gaskets were appended to each well and the consumable was transferred to the dPCR system. The consumable was pressurized at 75 psi for 25 min and held at 50 psi to load and digitize the sample across approximately 20,000 partitions. Amplification was performed by pre-heating the consumable at 96° C. for 10 min., followed by 49 cycles of the following: 5 s at 93° C., 20 s at 60° C.; pressure was maintained at 50 psi throughout the PCR reaction. A 10 min isothermal hold at 55° C. was incorporated after PCR, but before imaging. After thermal cycling, Combinati analysis software was used to locate and identify partitions within the unit and to acquire images of partitions at 60° C. (T1), 72° C. (T2), 81° C. (T3), and 92° C. (T4) with optical filters set to preferentially obtain fluorescence values for the FAM-AP fluorophore. Ratios were calculated for fluorescence signals measured at successive temperatures and plotted on a 1D amplitude plot. The detectable hairpin probe formed from Cleavable Probe M001.2-P_ECO1.1 after cleavage has a TM of 76.5° C. and was thus expected to show maximum change in fluorescence (ratio >1) between T2 and T3. Cleavable probes L003_D538G_ECO1.1 and M001.2_S463P_ECO1.1, included herein as background signal to demonstrate assay specificity in a complex signal matrix, have post-cleavage melts of approximately 66 C and 87 C and would be expected to show maximum change in fluorescence (ratio >1) between T1 and T2 or T4 and T3, respectively if they were to be activated.
In digital PCR (
The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 63/286,717, filed Dec. 7, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63286717 | Dec 2021 | US |
