Abstract: The invention provides an asymmetric cyanine dye compound having the structure including substituted forms thereof, wherein, at least one of R1 and R2 is linking group, X is O, S, or Se, and n ranges from 0 to 2. The invention further provides reporter-quencher dye pairs comprising the asymmetric cyanine dyes, dye-labelled polynucleotides incorporating the asymmetric cyanine dyes, and hybridization detection methods utilizing the dye-labelled polynucleotides.

Abstract: The invention provides an asymmetric cyanine dye compound having the structure ##STR1## including substituted forms thereof, wherein, at least one of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2 is linking group, X is O, S, or Se, and n ranges from 0 to 2. The invention further provides reporter-quencher dye pairs comprising the asymmetric cyanine dyes, dye-labeled polynucleotides incorporating the asymmetric cyanine dyes, and hybridization detection methods utilizing the dye-labeled polynucleotides.

Abstract: Improved methods, compositions and kits for detecting mutations in nucleic acids are disclosed, such comprise annealing a piece of control nucleic acid without mutations to a piece of test nucleic acid very similar in sequence to the control nucleic acid but possibly containing mutations, treating this mixture with potassium permanganate or hydroxylamine to remove mismatched bases from the duplex nucleic acid, treating the resulting nucleic acid with any of a class of diamines, triamines, and tetraamines analogous to 1,2-ethylenediamine to cleave abasic sites, and then analyzing the chemically treated nucleic acid to determine whether cleavage has occurred and approximately at what position in the nucleic acid any cleavage has occurred. Inclusion of betaine in the base-removal reactions improves their sensitivity and specificity.