the inventors have discovered that probes ( sometimes referred to as “ sloppy probes ”), by virtue of their ability to bind to more than one ( e . g ., 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 15 , 20 , 30 , 40 , 100 , or 1000 ) variants of a given target sequence , can be used in assays to detect the presence of one variant of a nucleic acid sequence segment of interest from among a number of possible variants or even to detect the presence of two or more variants . the probes are used in combinations of two or more in the same assay . because they differ in target binding sequence , their relative avidities for different variants are different . for example , a first probe may bind strongly to a wild - type sequence , moderately to a first allele , weakly to a second allele and not at all to a third allele ; while a second probe may bind weakly to the wild - type sequence and the first variant , and moderately to the second variant and the third variant . additional sloppy probes will exhibit yet different binding patterns due to their different target binding sequences . thus , fluorescence emission spectra from combinations of sloppy probes define different microbial strains or species , as well as allelic variants of genes in mammalian tissues that are associated with diseases and somatic mutations . assays according to this invention are described below utilizing our most preferred sloppy probes , namely , “ sloppy molecular beacon probes .” because sloppy probes reproducibly fluoresce with variable intensities after binding to different dna sequences , combinations can be used in , for example , simple , rapid , and sensitive nucleic acid amplification reaction assays ( e . g ., pcr - based assays ) that identify multiple pathogens in a single reaction well . it is understood , however , that the assays can be performed also on samples suspected of containing directly detectable amounts of unamplified target nucleic acids . this novel species identification assay is based on deconvolving the spectra of a set of partially hybridizing sloppy signaling probes , such as sloppy molecular beacon probes , each labeled with a fluorophore that emits light with a different wavelength optimum , to generate “ signature spectra ” of species - specific dna sequences . the use of conformation - dependent fluorescent probes called “ molecular beacon ” probes to detect short dna sequences with single nucleotide accuracy in real - time pcr reactions has been described [ tyagi et al . ( 1996 ) nat . biotechnol . 14 : 303 - 308 ; kostrikis et al . ( 1998 ) science , 279 : 1228 - 1229 ; piatek et al . ( 1998 ) nat . biotechnol . 16 : 359 - 363 ]. with reference to fig1 molecular beacon probe 1 is a single - stranded fluorescent nucleic acid molecule that possess a hairpin structure comprising loop 2 flanked by arms 3 and 4 . loop portion 2 serves as a probe sequence , or target binding sequence , that is complementary to a target dna sequence . the probe sequence is embedded within short flanking arm sequences 3 and 4 , which hybridize to each other to form a stem structure . in certain embodiments one arm sequence or a portion thereof may also be complementary to the target . a fluorescent moiety 5 is covalently linked to one arm , most conveniently at the free end , and a nonfluorescent quenching moiety 6 is covalently linked to the other arm , again , most conveniently at the free end . in homogenous solutions , the close proximity of the fluorophore to the quencher minimizes fluorescence , when the molecular beacon is in the stem - and - loop conformation . when the loop hybridizes to its target 7 , the rigidity of the resulting probe - target helix 8 forces the arm sequences apart . the fluorophore 5 is thereby separated from the quencher 6 , permitting the fluorophore to fluoresce brightly when excited by light of an appropriate wavelength . molecular beacon probes have a number of advantages for use in assays of this invention . molecular beacons are able to detect amplicons as they are synthesized during amplification . in real - time pcr , for example , the fluorescence generated by molecular beacon - target hybrids can be measured , by a spectrofluorometric thermal cycler which plots the fluorescence intensity as a function of the number of pcr thermal cycles performed . fig2 is a typical graph of a series of pcr reactions of an allele - discriminating molecular beacon probe , which may be used as the supplementary probe in methods of this invention , with varying starting amounts of perfectly matched target , wild - type dna , and varying starting amounts of mutant dna differing by a single nucleotide to which the probe essentially does not hybridize . the data in fig2 indicate that , as increasing amounts of wild - type amplicon , but not mutant amplicon , are synthesized , the fluorescence due to the molecular beacon - target hybrids also increases , thereby resulting in a characteristic fluorescent curve . reagents can be combined in , for example , the wells of a 96 - well microtiter plate , or individual reaction tubes , which are then hermetically sealed . molecular beacons with different target binding sequence can be labeled with differently colored fluorophores and used simultaneously in the same assay . because the probes are dark when not hybridized , background fluorescence is low and separation of signals from multiple probes is improved . amplification , molecular beacon hybridization , and analysis are all performed simultaneously . molecular beacon probes useful in the methods of this invention will hybridize to more than one variant and are herein designated “ sloppy ” molecular beacon probes . the probe sequences ( i . e ., the loop or the target hybridizing sequence ) of sloppy molecular beacons are longer than the probe sequence of molecular beacon probes that hybridize only to perfectly matched target sequences . however , the sloppy molecular beacons used in the methods of the invention are not limited to a specific length of the target hybridizing sequence . persons skilled in the art can readily prepare sloppy probes by minimal trial and error . for random coil ( or “ linear ”) probes such as taqman ™ probes described in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 487 , 972 , the length of the probe region complementary to intended targets is increased sufficiently that the probe binds not only to perfectly matched targets but also to targets differing , as need arises , by one or several nucleotides . for molecular beacon probes , the length of the probe region is increased but the length of the arms hybrid is kept short . we have found loop sequences in the range of 25 to 50 nucleotides in length and arms hybrids in the range of 4 to 6 nucleotides in length to be generally satisfactory and to provide an excellent starting point for probe design . sloppy molecular beacons can readily be designed to hybridize and fluoresce strongly to both perfectly complementary targets and to a wide range of mismatched targets at typical annealing temperatures , 40 ° c . to 55 ° c ., of pcr assays . we performed real - time pcr assays containing sloppy molecular beacons using different target amplicons with varying degrees of complementarity to the probe region . fig3 a and 3b show the results of real - time pcr assays using either a fluorescein ( fam )- labeled molecular beacon with a 45 - nucleotide probe region that was perfectly complementary to a species - specific hypervariable region of the m . tuberculosis 16s rrna gene ( fig3 a ) or a tetrachlorofluorescein ( tet )- labeled molecular beacon with a 45 - nucleotide probe region that was perfectly complementary to a species - specific hypervariable region of the m . xenopie 16s rrna gene ( fig3 b ). as expected , these sloppy molecular beacons fluoresced strongly in the presence of perfectly complementary target during real - time pcr . however , they also demonstrated a wide range of fluorescence intensities when used in the presence of seven other partially non - complementary amplicons from other mycobacterial species . gel electrophoresis demonstrated that the differences in fluorescence intensity were not due to differences in amplicon concentration , but rather , to the proportion of amplicons to which molecular beacons are bound at the annealing temperature of the assay . the target amplicons differed from m . tuberculosis or m . xenopie at 2 - 8 base pairs ( 4 %- 18 % non - complementary with the probe region ). every molecular beacon - target hybrid with a unique melting temperature will have a corresponding unique signal intensity at a defined temperature and concentration of probe and amplicon . thus , a limited number of sloppy probes could be used as probes to identify many different possible target sequences in a real - time pcr reaction , if it were possible to control for differences in amplicon concentration , and to control for well - to - well variations in background fluorescence . fluorescence intensity during real - time pcr is influenced by the concentrations of probes and amplicons present in the reaction . the concentration of probes can be controlled experimentally , but different amounts of amplicon are generated with each pcr reaction . in order to obtain measurements that are independent of target molecule concentration , assays according to this invention utilize the ratio of fluorescence of at least two differently colored sloppy probes , preferably molecular beacons . in calculating the ratios , the concentration parameters cancel out . as long as the same master mix of probes is used , the fluorescence ratio of two different sloppy molecular beacon probes hybridizing to the same target amplicon varied by less then 10 % over a 10 , 000 - fold change in target concentration . referring to fig4 a , 4 b and 4 c , a master mix containing two sloppy molecular beacon probes was prepared . one probe was labeled with tet . the other probe was labeled with fam . the master mix was used in a series of pcr amplifications wherein eight amounts of starting concentration of target were used , varying from a maximum of 10 ng to a minimum of 1 pg . the tet - labeled probe was fully complementary to the target . the loop sequence of the fam - labeled probe was fully complementary to a neighboring region of the target . fig4 a shows the fluorescence intensities obtained for the tet - labeled probe as a function of the number of pcr cycles performed . fig4 b shows the fluorescence intensities obtained for the fam - labeled probe as a function of the number of pcr cycles performed . fig4 c is a plot of the ratios of tet intensities to fam intensities . the non - variance of the ratios is apparent . in contrast , the fluorescence ratios of two sloppy molecular beacons hybridizing to two different target amplicons can vary by over 600 %. mathematical models of molecular beacon - target interactions support these experimental observations . the inventors have determined mathematically that fluorescence has a linear relationship to target concentration , when the target concentration is sufficiently high . by analyzing fluorescence ratios ( instead of individual fluorescence intensities ), once the linear ( or plateau ) phase of pcr has been reached , the concentration dependence is canceled out ( fig4 c ). this enables a concentration independent measure of molecular beacon hybridization . concentration effects are similarly eliminated in assays employing no amplification , with amplification other than pcr , and with other sloppy probes . sloppy molecular beacons used in combination to identify mycobacterial species an assay according to this invention generates fluorescence “ fingerprints ” of short dna sequences that uniquely identify a particular dna , even if the actual dna sequence is not known . an example will be described utilizing four sloppy molecular beacon probes used to assay eight different mycobacterial species . table 1 gives the sequences of a hypervariable species - specific region of the mycobacterial 16s rrna gene for several species , showing nucleotides that differ from m . tuberculosis ( m . tb ). we prepared four differently labeled sloppy molecular beacon probes , each of which had a target - hybridizing sequence ( loop ) that was complementary to one species . the sequences of the probes , including their 5 - nucleotide arms , are shown in table 2 . the quencher in each case was dabcyl . a master mix of the four sloppy probes was tested against eight different species . all six possible fluorescence ratios were determined , as described above in connection with fig4 c . a segment of 16s dna from eight different mycobacterial species , each in a separate tube , was then amplified in the presence of all four sloppy molecular beacons . all of the pcr reactions used the same set of primers that hybridized to conserved sequences flanking the hypervariable sequence that identifies each species . fluorescence was measured in real - time . in these experiments , the abi 7700 spectrofluorometric thermal cycler derives an emission spectra for each fluorophore from the combined emissions of all four fluorophores in the reaction well . these data were then used to calculate fluorescence intensity for each sloppy molecular beacon . in order to normalize for differences in background fluorescence between each reaction well , the initial fluorescence in each well was subtracted from the final measured fluorescence at the end of the pcr reaction in the same well . a ratio of fluorescence values between each two molecular beacons present in the tube was generated , resulting in six fluorescence ratios per tube . a unique set of fluorescence ratios ( fluorescence fingerprints ) was thus derived for the 16s dna sequence for each species tested ( fig5 ). the experiments were then repeated three times . fig5 shows the mean ratio from the three repeats . it also includes error bars showing the data spread from the mean . the negativity of some ratios is an artifact of the abi fluorescence calculations and does not imply the disappearance of fluorescence . the negative values can be used accurately to calculate fluorescence ratios . each dna sequence generated a characteristic fluorescence fingerprint . importantly , the diversity of fluorescence ratios relates to the degree of sequence diversity among the target amplicons . the ratios were most similar for m . tuberculosis and m . marinum , whose sequences in the target region only differ from one another at two nucleotide positions ( table 1 ). the ratios obtained for less closely related species differed markedly . subsequent experiments confirmed the accuracy of this pattern . despite the similarity of m . tuberculosis and m . marinum , none of the triplicate rhd / fam ratios overlapped between these two species , demonstrating that the ratios were unique to each species . for m . tuberculosis , the rhd / fam ratios were − 0 . 23 +/− 0 . 01 , while for m . marinum the rhd / fam ratios were − 0 . 29 +/− 0 . 005 . all of the other species also had at least one fluorescence ratio where none of the triplicate measurements overlapped with the ratio of any other species . a potential problem in the assays of the invention arises when more than one allele or allelic amplicon is present in the same reaction well , making deconvolution of spectra very difficult . examples of such situations include : ( a ) analyses of samples ( e . g ., tissue , blood , excretions , or secretions ) that contain more than one species , subspecies , or strain of a particular pathogenic micro - organism ( e . g ., mycobacteria ); and ( b ) analysis of dna from eukaryotic cells that are heterozygous for the variant sequence of interest . where mammalian tissues , blood , or other bodily fluids are being tested , the chance of infection by related bacterial species is low ; hence , only one variant of a gene is likely to occur in a sample . where bacterial gene variants are encountered in a sample , this problem can be obviated by using dna from individual colonies as a source of template . an alternative solution to the problem is to perform the pcr amplifications in multiple vessels ( e . g ., wells of a microtiter plate ) in each of which there is less than one genome - equivalent of the dna . if there is a single variant present in the original sample , in vessels giving a positive result ( i . e ., showing significant fluorescence ratios ), there should be monophasic distribution of values , i . e ., all the vessels should yield a similar value within the precision of the method . if there are two variants in the sample , there should be a biphasic distribution of values among the positive pcr reaction vessels . in one set of vessels , the ratios will cluster around a first value indicative of one variant ( e . g ., a wild - type allele ) and in the second set vessels , around a second value indicative of a second variant ( e . g ., a mutant allele ). where three variants are present , a triphasic distribution would be obtained , and so on . the content of reaction vessels giving anomalous values which do not fall into a particular group can be isolated and the amplicons sequenced to test for the presence of two or more amplicons in the wells . the use of multiple ( e . g ., 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 8 or 10 ) sloppy beacon probes and calculation of all possible ratios can overcome discrimination problems due , for example , to the ratio of fluorescence intensity ratio for a single sloppy molecular beacon pair being the same for two or more candidate target sequences . four different sloppy molecular beacons may in some cases be insufficient to resolve a large number and variety of target sequences with high precision . the number of different sloppy molecular beacons that can be used simultaneously in the same assay well is only limited by the ability to resolve the emission spectrum of each fluorophore . one of the factors that limits the sensitivity of detection by fluorescence is that the optimal emission wavelength of most fluorophores is only a few nanometers longer than their optimal excitation wavelength ( stokes shift ). as a consequence of this , a portion of the excitation light reaches the detector by processes such as scattering and reflection , contributing to a background signal that limits the sensitivity . monochromatic light sources , such as lasers , are often used to minimize the extent to which the excitation light reaches the detector . however , this prevents the use of a large number of different fluorophores in the same solution , because these light sources excite some fluorophores very well but excite other fluorophores not as well or not at all . for example , the commonly used blue argon ion laser is suitable for exciting fluorescein but not texas red , because it excites texas red only at about two percent of its optimal level . wavelength - shifting molecular beacons ( international application no . pct / us99 / 17145 , incorporated herein by reference in its entirety ) permit more different probes to be used with a monochromatic light source . a wavelength - shifting molecular beacon probe can be excited , for example , by a blue argon ion laser , but emit strong fluorescent light in the orange , red , or near - infrared wavelengths . wavelength - shifting molecular beacons contain a harvester fluorophore and an emitter fluorophore on one arm , plus a quencher such as dabcyl on the other arm . the harvester , the emitter , and quencher can be disposed in a number of positions with respect to each other . the harvester fluorophore is chosen to have high absorbance in the wavelength range of the available monochromatic light source . the emitter fluorophore is chosen to have high absorbance in the wavelength range of the harvester &# 39 ; s emission . whereas the blue argon ion laser will not excite texas red , fluorescein will . thus , a wavelength - shifting molecular beacon with a fluorescein harvester and texas red emitter is excited quite well by the same light source . in a hairpin conformation when not bound to target , the quencher quenches fluorescence , and wavelength - shifting molecular beacons emit little light in the emission ranges of either fluorophore . the light energy absorbed by the harvester fluorophore is efficiently channeled to the quencher moiety and is lost as heat . when the probe sequence in the loop binds to its target and the arms are forced apart and the quencher is no longer effective . in this conformation , the harvester and emitter fluorophore interact . the fluorescence of the harvester fluorophore is not restored , because its stored energy is rapidly transferred via resonance energy transfer ( fret ) to the emitter fluorophore that is placed at an appropriate ( fret ) distance . the emitter fluorophore then emits the received energy in its own characteristic range of emission thereby providing a large stokes shift . although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment , it should be understood that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention . accordingly , the invention is limited only by the following claims .