Molecular Hybridisation
Definition
The formation of a double-stranded nucleic acid molecule from two complementary single strands, driven by hydrogen-bond formation between base pairs (A-T, G-C for DNA; A-U, G-C for RNA). The specificity of hybridisation underpins Southern blotting, Northern blotting, microarrays, and oligonucleotide probe assays.
Related terms
- Microarray (Gene Chip / SNP Chip)
- A solid-phase hybridisation platform carrying thousands to millions of oligonucleotide probes at spatially registered positions. Hybridisation of a labelled target simultaneously queries...
- Minisatellite (VNTR)
- A hypervariable genomic locus characterised by tandem repeats of a 10-60 bp core sequence, with the number of repeat units varying between...
- mRNA Body-Fluid Profiling
- The RT-PCR-based descendant of Northern blotting: tissue-specific messenger RNA transcripts are reverse-transcribed and amplified from crime-scene stains to identify body fluid of...
- Southern Blot
- A technique (E.M. Southern, 1975) in which restriction-digested DNA fragments are separated by gel electrophoresis, transferred to a membrane, and hybridised with...
- Stringency
- The extent to which hybridisation conditions favour only perfectly complementary probe-target pairs over partially mismatched ones. High stringency (elevated temperature and/or low...
- Western Blot (Protein Immunoblot)
- SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of proteins followed by electrotransfer to a PVDF or nitrocellulose membrane, then antibody-based detection of a specific protein...
Explained in
- Hybridisation, Southern, Northern, Western Blots and MicroarraysThe formation of a double-stranded nucleic acid molecule from two complementary single strands, driven by hydrogen-bond formation between base pairs (A-T, G-C...