PrimerHunter: a primer design tool for PCR-based virus subtype identification.

ABSTRACT: Rapid and reliable virus subtype identification is critical for accurate diagnosis of human infections, effective response to epidemic outbreaks and global-scale surveillance of highly pathogenic viral subtypes such as avian influenza H5N1. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has become the method of choice for virus subtype identification. However, designing subtype-specific PCR primer pairs is a very challenging task: on one hand, selected primer pairs must result in robust amplification in the presence of a significant degree of sequence heterogeneity within subtypes, on the other, they must discriminate between the subtype of interest and closely related subtypes. In this article, we present a new tool, called PrimerHunter, that can be used to select highly sensitive and specific prime

SUBMITTER: Duitama J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2677861 | biostudies-literature | 2009 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature