Abstract: Nucleic acid probes and primers are described for detecting fungi that cause disease in humans and animals, as well as spoilage of food and beverages. These probes can detect rRNA, rDNA or polymerase chain reaction products from a majority of fungi in clinical, environmental or food samples. Nucleic acid hybridization assay probes specific for Acremonium sp., Aspergillus clavatus, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Aspergillus glaucus, Aspergillus nidulans, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus unguis, Aspergillus ustus, Beauveria sp., Bipolaris sp., Blastoschizomyces sp., Blastomyces dermatitidis, Candida albicans, Candida glabrata, Candida guilliermondii, Candida kefyr, Candida krusei, Candida lusitaniae, Candida parapsilosis, Candida tropicalis, Chrysosporium sp., Cladosporium sp., Coccidioides immitis, Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii serotype B, Cryptococcus neoformans serotype A, Cryptococcus laurentii, Cryptococcus terreus, Curvularia sp., Fusarium sp.

Abstract: The detection of the IS6110 insertion element in a clinical specimen is a rapid way of diagnosing infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A reliable diagnostic test for tuberculosis based on the IS6110 DNA is described in this disclosure. A "Universal" specimen preparation protocol that eliminates live organisms and purifies nucleic acids from all types of clinical specimens is described. Two nucleic acid primers designed to amplify IS6110 DNA with high specificity in a polymerase chain reaction are also described. The amplified IS6110 DNA is identified by a restriction endonuclease and electrophoresis based assay. The identification process also renders the DNA unamplifiable in a subsequent PCR, thereby reducing the possibility of contaminating other specimens. Time, labor and cost is minimized, while user safety and test reliability are maximized.