Replicative RNA reporter systems

摘要

Highly sensitive methods for assaying for biopolymers, such as by immunoassay or nucleic acid probe hybridization assay, and compositions for carrying out the methods, are provided. The methods employ as reporter group a RNA capable of being autocatalytically replicated by an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, such as the replicase of bacteriophage Q beta . The high sensitivity of the assay methods is due to the rapid, exponential increase in concentration of such a replicative RNA, associated specifically with biopolymer analyte, that can be achieved by autocatalytic RNA replication.