Presentation Abstract: TessArae’s Resequencing Pathogen Microarray (RPM) simultaneously detects and identifies hundreds of strains of viral and bacterial pathogens. Unlike PCR and immunoassays that employ a surrogate marker for detection (e.g. fluorescent signal), RPM results are the nucleotide sequences of pathogen-specific signatures such as determinants of host-range, pathogenicity, virulence, and resistance to antiviral drugs, thus providing an accurate information about the pathogens present in a sample. RPM-Flu 3.1 assay is specific for respiratory pathogens, for example influenza, adenovirus, coronavirus and a number of bacterial as well as other viral infections. Rapid and more informative detection, identification, and genetic characterization of outbreak influenza viruses are essential for effective surveillance and epidemiological tracking. Several clinical specimens from patients with suspected or probable cases of swine flu infection (based on the CDC interim guidance) were evaluated using the RPM (resequencing pathogen microarray) 2009 A/H1N1 Swine Flu assay, a single day assay that simultaneously generates nucleotide sequence data from the viral H, N, NS, M, and PB genes. The RPM assay consistently identified influenza virus origin, whether swine, human, or avian, in all specimens tested, and suspected or probable cases with flu of human origin were confirmed by a combination of culture and/or PCR-based testing. In addition, the RPM assay detected and identified co-infecting pathogens that may exacerbate morbidity in swine flu infections. RPM leverages the high performance, high density Affymetrix CustomSeq format to robustly determine precise base sequence matches and mismatches, enabling epidemiological analysis of such sequence variants from newly introduced, circulating, and commensal organisms within defined populations. The RPM assay also demonstrates greater sensitivity, especially for unknown or emerging strains, through a relaxed amplification strategy decoupled from specific sequence detection on the microarray.
Conference Website: BioConference Live 2010
Tags: BioConference Live