Comparison of the sensitivities of ribonucleic acid and oligonucleotide probes for in situ detection of Theiler's virus mRNA.

To evaluate the sensitivity of in situ detection of the Theiler's virus genome, we hybridized BHK-21-infected cells with antisense ribo- and oligonucleotide 35S-labeled probes. The sensitivity achieved with the anti-sense 280-nucleotide riboprobe was similar to that obtained with a 93-mer oligonucleotide probe. However, more reproducible and accurate results were obtained with the riboprobe. With long exposure times, the background was higher with the oligonucleotide probe than with the RNA probe. The background was improved by using freshly labeled oligonucleotide probe.