The principle behind a nucleic acid probe is that the probe itself contains
A) at least three separate sequences of the gene of interest to minimize false positives.
B) an antibody to specifically bind to the gene of interest.
C) a key part of the base sequence of the gene of interest.
D) all of the nucleotide sequence of the gene of interest to conclusively identify the gene.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A nucleic acid probe contains a sequence of nucleotides that is complementary to a specific target DNA or RNA sequence, allowing it to bind specifically to that sequence. The key part of the base sequence of the gene of interest is the most important feature of the nucleic acid probe, as it allows for specific binding and detection of the target sequence. Options A, B, and D are not applicable to the principle of nucleic acid probes.

The Principle Behind a Nucleic Acid Probe Is That the Probe