Probes and its types

PROBES AND ITS TYPES

  • A probe is a nucleic acid which has been labeled i.e., chemically modified in some way which allows it and hence anything it hybridizes to, to be detected.
  • There are three major types of probe:
    • Oligonucleotide probes,
    • DNA probes and
    • cRNA probes (riboprobes)
  • Oligonucleotide probes are synthesized chemically and end labeled
  • DNA probes which are cloned DNAs or PCR products and may either be end-labeled or internally labeled during in vitro replication
  • cRNA probes (complementary RNA probes) or riboprobes which are internally labeled during in vitro transcription of cloned DNA.
  • Riboprobes and oligonucleotide probes are generally labeled as single-stranded molecules. DNA may be labeled as a double-stranded or single-stranded molecule, but it is only useful as a probe when single stranded and must be denatured before use.
Last modified: Friday, 24 September 2010, 12:09 PM