Monitoring of Eco RI-catalyzed cleavage reaction of fluorescent-labeled heterochiral DNA

We have found the unusual reactivity of a heterochiral oligodeoxynucleotide toward restriction endonuclease Eco RI. To conduct the kinetic analysis of the reaction, fluorescent-labeled single-stranded oligodeoxynucleotide molecular beacons were designed and synthesized. The beacons showed a remarkable fluorescence response by addition of Eco RI. The results promise that the beacon could be an effective tool for the kinetic analysis of Eco RI-catalyzed cleavage reaction of the heterochiral oligodeoxynucleotide.