Gene Probes

The use of nucleic acid or gene probes as cloning and diagnostic tools has proven to be a powerful technique for lsolatlon and mampulatlon of genes, as well as for rapid detection and ldentlficatlon of bacteria and other mlcroorgamsms, with wide apphcatlons in molecular biology, medical, and environmental sciences. By defimtlon, a probe 1s a DNA molecule with a strong affinity for a specific target, and the hybrid (probetarget combmatlon) can be revealed when an appropriate detection system 1s used The nature of mteractlons between a probe and complementary nucleic acids 1s primarily through H-bonding, at thousands of sites in some cases, depending on the length of the hybrid. Hydrophobic mteractlons contribute little to the specificity, although a reduction in stability can be observed in organic solvents.