Blastocystis is a common intestinal parasite of unsettled clinical significance, which is not easily detected by standard parasitological methods. The genus comprises at least 13 subtypes (STs) (which likely represent separate species), 9 of which have been found in humans. Recent data indicate that at least one of the subtypes is associated with intestinal disease. A quantitative TaqMan 5' nuc...

The multiplexing capabilities with different fluorescent dyes are limited in real-time PCR instruments equipped with one excitation source. Considering this limitation, a design was developed to create a triple-labeled probe as an internal positive control (IPC) that utilizes a combination of the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and TaqMan techniques. The IPC probe, labeled with FA...

The article describes a new technology for real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of nucleic acids. Similar to Taqman, this new method, named Snake, utilizes the 50-nuclease activity of Thermus aquaticus (Taq) DNA polymerase that cleaves dual-labeled Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) probes and generates a fluorescent signal during PCR. However, the mechanism of the probe cl...

A quantitative real-time TaqMan PCR assay for detection of human adenoviruses (HAdV) was developed using broadly reactive consensus primers and a TaqMan probe targeting a conserved region of the hexon gene. The TaqMan assay correctly identified 56 representative adenovirus prototype strains and field isolates from all six adenovirus species (A to F). Based on infectious units, the TaqMan assay ...