Analysis of single nucleotide variations (SNVs) in DNA and RNA sequences is instrumental in healthcare for the detection of genetic and infectious diseases and drug-resistant pathogens. Here we took advantage of the developments in DNA nanotechnology to design a hybridization sensor, named the ‘owl sensor’, which produces a fluorescence signal only when it complexes with fully complementary DNA or RNA analytes. The novelty of the owl sensor operation is that the selectivity of analyte recognition is, at least in part, determined by the structural rigidity and stability of the entire DNA nanostructure rather than exclusively by the stability of the analyte–probe duplex, as is the case for conventional hybridization probes. Using two DNA and two RNA analytes we demonstrated that owl sensors differentiate SNVs in a wide temperature range of 5 °C–32 °C, a performance unachievable by conventional hybridization probes including the molecular beacon probe. The owl sensor reliably detects cognate analytes even in the presence of 100 times excess of single base mismatched sequences. The approach, therefore, promises to add to the toolbox for the diagnosis of SNVs at ambient temperatures.

中文翻译：

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猫头鹰传感器：用于分析单核苷酸变异的“易碎” DNA纳米结构†

DNA和RNA序列中单核苷酸变异（SNV）的分析在医疗保健中有助于检测遗传和传染病以及耐药病原体。在这里，我们利用DNA纳米技术的发展来设计一种名为“猫头鹰传感器”的杂交传感器，该传感器仅在与完全互补的DNA或RNA分析物复合时才产生荧光信号。猫头鹰传感器操作的新颖性在于，分析物识别的选择性至少部分取决于整个DNA纳米结构的结构刚度和稳定性，而不是像情况一样完全取决于分析物-探针双链体的稳定性。用于常规杂交探针。使用两种DNA和两种RNA分析物，我们证明了猫头鹰传感器可在5°C–32°C的宽温度范围内区分SNV，这是常规杂交探针（包括分子信标探针）无法实现的。猫头鹰传感器即使在单碱基错配序列过量100倍的情况下也能可靠地检测同源分析物。因此，该方法有望添加到工具箱中，以在环境温度下诊断SNV。