Secondary structure defining database and methods for determining identity and geographic origin of an unknown bioagent in containers thereby
First Claim
1. A method of identifying an unknown bioagent in a container using a database of molecular masses of known bioagents comprising:
- contacting nucleic acid from said bioagent in said container with at least one pair of oligonucleotide primers that hybridize to sequences of said nucleic acid, wherein said sequences flank a variable nucleic acid sequence of said bioagent in said container;
producing an amplification product of said variable nucleic acid sequence;
determining a first molecular mass of said amplification product; and
comparing said first molecular mass to the molecular masses of known bioagents, thereby identifying the unknown bioagent in said container.
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to the field of investigational bioinformatics and more particularly to secondary structure defining databases. The present invention further relates to methods for interrogating a database as a source of molecular masses of known bioagents for comparing against the molecular mass of an unknown or selected bioagent to determine either the identity of the selected bioagent, and/or to determine the origin of the selected bioagent. The identification of the bioagent is important for determining a proper course of treatment and/or irradication of the bioagent in such cases as biological warfare. Furthermore, the determination of the geographic origin of a selected bioagent will facilitate the identification of potential criminal identity.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of identifying an unknown bioagent in a container using a database of molecular masses of known bioagents comprising:
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contacting nucleic acid from said bioagent in said container with at least one pair of oligonucleotide primers that hybridize to sequences of said nucleic acid, wherein said sequences flank a variable nucleic acid sequence of said bioagent in said container;
producing an amplification product of said variable nucleic acid sequence;
determining a first molecular mass of said amplification product; and
comparing said first molecular mass to the molecular masses of known bioagents, thereby identifying the unknown bioagent in said container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A database having cell-data positional significance comprising at least a first table of a plurality of data-containing cells, said first table organized into at least a first row and a second row, each row having columns and data-containing cells;
- and wherein said data-containing cells have an alignment with at least one other row for differentiating aligned from non-aligned data-containing cells, and wherein said differentiation in alignment of said data-containing cells designates a structural feature of a polymer present in a container.
- View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A service providing information related to a bioagent in a container comprising:
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providing a dimensional master database for storing a molecular mass, an identity and a detail corresponding to a plurality of known bioagents and, said master database storing the molecular mass, the identity and the detail for a plurality of known bioagents;
interrogating the master database with an identification request of an unknown bioagent in a container to generate a response; and
delivering said response from the master database to a requester. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of determining a geographical origin of a selected bioagent in a container using a database of molecular masses of known bioagents comprising:
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contacting nucleic acid from said selected bioagent in said container with at least one pair of oligonucleotide primers which hybridize to sequences of said nucleic acid, wherein said sequences flank a variable nucleic acid sequence of the bioagent in said container;
producing an amplification product of said variable nucleic acid sequence;
determining a first molecular mass of said amplification product; and
comparing said first molecular mass to the molecular masses of known bioagents for determining a geographic origin of said selected bioagent, said comparison determining an identity and a geographic origin of said selected bioagent in said container. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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Specification