Detection rpoB sequences of

1. A method of detecting rpoB sequences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis present in a biological sample, comprising the steps of: providing a biological sample containing nucleic acid from M. tuberculosis comprising a rpoB sequence; amplifying the rpoB sequence in an in vitro nucleic acid amplification reaction mixture comprising at least one polymerase activity, and a first primer consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2 and a second primer consisting of SEQ ID NO: 8 to produce amplified nucleic acid containing a rpoB sequence; optionally fragmenting the amplified nucleic acid; hybridizing the amplified nucleic acid to at least one detection probe consisting of SEQ ID NO:4 that hybridizes specifically to M. tuberculosis sequences; and detecting the amplified nucleic acid hybridized to at least one detection probe by detecting a label associated with the amplified nucleic acid, thereby detecting the rpoB sequences of Mycobacterium tuberculosis present in the biological sample.

2. The method of claim 1 , before the amplifying step, further comprising the steps of: adding to the biological sample a combination of first and second capture oligomers consisting of SEQ ID NO: 5 and SEQ ID NO: 6 wherein the first and second capture oligomers specifically hybridize to a M. tuberculosis sequence specific for each capture oligomer, and an immobilized nucleic acid that hybridizes to a 3′ tail sequence of the first and second capture oligomers; hybridizing the nucleic acid from M. tuberculosis , the capture oligomers, and the immobilized nucleic acids to produce a hybridization complex comprising the nucleic acid from M. tuberculosis, at least one of the first and second capture oligomers, and the immobilized nucleic acid; and separating the hybridization complex from other components of the biological sample.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the amplifying step uses a helper oligomer consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein amplifying comprises transcription-mediated amplification.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein amplifying comprises polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method includes chemically fragmenting the amplified nucleic acid and fluorescently labeling fragments of the amplified nucleic acid.

7. A composition for detecting a rpoB sequence of M. tuberculosis , comprising an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO 8, and optionally at least one detection probe consisting of SEQ ID NO: 4.

8. The composition of claim 7 , further comprising an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1.

9. The composition of claim 7 , further comprising a combination of a first oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 5 and a second oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 6.

10. A kit comprising: an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 8, and at least one oligonucleotide selected from the group consisting of an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1 and an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 4.

11. The kit of claim 10 , comprising the oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1.

12. The kit of claim 10 , comprising the oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 4.

13. The kit of claim 10 , further comprising an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 5 and an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 6.

14. The kit of claim 10 , further comprising an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 10 or an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 11.

15. The kit of claim 10 , comprising an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1 and an oligonucleotide consisting of SEQ ID NO: 4.