Conserved yeast nucleic acid sequences

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention advantageously provides both probes and primers which bind to a variety of strains of C.
albicans and C.
stellatoidea.
General probes are useful as an initial screen for Candidal infection, and provide a rapid alternative to the culturing techniques currently employed as an initial screen, which require on the order of days to weeks of culturing.
Once a positive result on the initial screen is found, the species specific probes can be employed, if necessary, to provide a rapid means to diagnose the particular infection.
Nucleotide sequences are presented herein by single strand only, in the 5' to 3' direction, from left to right.
One letter nucleotide symbols used herein have their standard meaning in the art in accordance with the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission and the Patent Office Rules.
The term "Candida" as used herein has its conventional meaning in the art (See generally B.
Davis et al.
, Microbiology, 995-96 (2d Ed.
1973).
By way of example, the Candida include, but are not limited to, C.
albicans, C.
claussenii, C.
langeronii, C.
stellatoidea, C.
glabrata, C.
gulliermondi, C.
keyfr, C.
krusei, C.
lusitaniae, C.
parapsilosis.
C.
tropicalis and C.
viswanathii.
The term "amplification pair," as used herein, refers to a pair of oligonucleotide probes of the present invention selected to be suitable for use together in amplifying a selected Candida nucleic acid sequence by a process such as polymerase chain reaction, ligase chain reaction, or strand displacement amplification, as explained in greater detail below.
Nucleic acid (i.
e.
, DNA or RNA) samples for practicing the present invention may be obtained from any suitable source.
Typically, the nucleic acid sample will be obtained in the form of a sample of a biological fluid or biological tissue suspected of containing Candida.
Suitable biological fluids include, but are not limited to, sputum, bronchial washings, gastric washings (containing swallowed sputum), blood, milk, and lymph fluid