Nucleic acid hybridization is a technique in which single-stranded nucleic acids (DNA or RNA) are allowed to interact so as to cause hybrids formed by molecules with similar, complementary sequences. It is a fundamental tool in molecular genetics, whose principle is taking advantage of the ability of individual single-stranded nucleic acid molecules to form double-stranded molecules.
The process of nucleic acid hybridization involves two sources of nucleic acids, a probe and a target which typically consists of a complex, heterogeneous population of nucleic acid molecules. The hyrbridization process involves two different steps. First the nucleic acid must be immobilized on a filter. The second step is the actual hybridization of the probe to the filter bound nucleic acid.
The hybridization of a radioactive probe to filter bound DNA or RNA is one of the most informative experiments that is performed in molecular genetics. There are two basic types available for use: Southern hybridization and Northern hybridization. If the probe or the target DNA or RNA strands is double-stranded, their strands should be separated usually by heating or by alkaline treatment. Then the single strands of probe and the single strands of target will be mixed together, during which the strands with complementary base sequences are able to bind with each other.
Most recently, principles of nucleic acid hybridization have been combined with next generation sequencing technology to create powerful new platforms for analysis which will increase in utility as entering the new age of genomics and personalised medicine.
In situ hybridization is one of the most commonly performed hybridization technique in labs, which involves hybridizing a labelled nucleic acid to suitably prepared cells or histological sections. This technique is used particularly to look for specific transcription or localization of genes to specific chromosomes via fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis.
About Probes
Probes are the primary tool used to identify complementary sequences of interest. Generally, the probe is a clone developed by inserting DNA into a vector. Most often these are plasmid clones. They are single-stranded nucleic acid that has been radiolabelled and is used to identify a complimentary nucleic acid sequence that is membrane bound.
Creative Bioarray provides the most comprehensive list of FISH probes for rapid identification of a wide range of chromosomal aberrations across the genome. Those probes target relevant regions for a wide range of applications such as detection of gene amplification, deletion, translocation and chromosomal aneuploidies associated with tumor and genetic disease profiling.