The role of Nucleic Acid Mimics (NAMs) on FISH-based techniques and applications for microbial detection

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2022

Authors

Nácher-Vázquez, M (Author) Other; Santos, B (Author) Other; Azevedo, NF (Author) FEUP; Cerqueira, L (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Microbiological Research

Vol. 262

ISSN: 0944-5013

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00Z-AHC

DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127086

Abstract (EN): Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) is a powerful tool that for more than 30 years has allowed to detect and quantify microorganisms as well as to study their spatial distribution in three-dimensional structured environments such as biofilms. Throughout these years, FISH has been improved in order to face some of its earlier limitations and to adapt to new research objectives. One of these improvements is related to the emergence of Nucleic Acid Mimics (NAMs), which are now employed as alternatives to the DNA and RNA probes that have been classically used in FISH. NAMs such as peptide and locked nucleic acids (PNA and LNA) have provided enhanced sensitivity and specificity to the FISH technique, as well as higher flexibility in terms of applications. In this review, we aim to cover the state-of-the-art of the different NAMs and explore their possible applications in FISH, providing a general overview of the technique advancement in the last decades.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 15