基因探针技术的最新进展为水工业提供了一种强大的新技术，用于监测日益复杂的微生物群的供水情况。综述了基因探针技术的基本原理，包括基因探针的构建、标记、杂交和检测。概述了化学发光检测系统和核酸扩增等最新进展。文中讨论了基因探针技术在环境中的应用，并与传统检测技术进行了比较。具体应用包括检测细菌、病毒和原生动物寄生虫。最后，评估了基因探针技术在水工业中的应用潜力。 表格包括:1）四种基因探针系统的概述；2） 基因探针分析和传统检测方法的优点和局限性；3） 基因探针检测细菌的环境应用；4）用于检测病毒的细胞培养分析、免疫学分析和基因探针分析的环境应用。列出了研究需求。这篇文章最后列出了大量的参考文献。包括79个参考文献、表格和图表。

Recent advances in gene probe technology have provided the water industry with a powerful new technique for monitoring water supplies for an increasingly complex group of microbes. The basic principles of gene probe technology, including gene probe construction, labeling, hybridization, and detection, are summarized. Recent developments such as chemiluminescent detection systems and nucleic acid amplification are outlined. Environmental applications of gene probe technology to microbes of specific interest to the water industry are discussed and compared with traditional detection techniques. Specific applications include detection of bacteria, viruses, and protozoan parasites. Finally, the potential for application of gene probe technology to the water industry is evaluated. Tables include: 1) summary descriptions of four gene probe systems; 2) advantages and limitations of both gene probe assays and traditional detection methods; 3) environmental applications of gene probe detection of bacteria; and 4) environmental applications of cell culture assays, immunological assays, and gene probe assays for the detection of viruses. Research needs are listed. The article concludes with an extensive reference list. Includes 79 references, tables, figures.