PROCESSES, APPARATUS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR CHARACTERIZING NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCES

摘要

A sample containing nucleotide sequences is characterized or "fingerprinted" by contacting it, or portions thereof, with a plurality of primer pairs; detecting nucleotide regions delineated by subsequences hybridized with each primer pair, determining a physical characteristic of each such detected region; and indexing such physical characteristics as a function of the primer pair that hybridized to the delineating subsequences of the corresponding region. An apparatus for fingerprinting a sample containing nucleotide sequences includes functionality for carrying out such a process. A kit of primers for use in characterizing, or fingerprinting, a sample comprising one or more nucluotide sequences is produced by a process identifying a first set of primers that hybridize with relative high frequency to respective antisense subsequences putatively present in the sample (or complementary subsequences thereof); identifying a second set of primers that hybridize with relative low frequency to respective sense subsequences putatively present in the sample (or complementary subsequences thereof); and, providing as the kit of primers at least selected primers common to both the first and second sets.