The principle behind a nucleic acid probe design is that the probe itself must contain
A) a key complementary part of the target gene sequence of interest.
B) all of the nucleotide sequence of the gene of interest to conclusively identify the gene.
C) an antibody to specifically bind to the gene of interest.
D) at least three separate complementary regions of the gene of interest.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Nucleic acid probes are designed to bind specifically to a target gene or sequence of interest. To achieve this specificity, the probe must contain a complementary sequence to a key part of the target gene sequence. This is typically a short section of the gene, rather than the entire sequence. By binding specifically to the target gene, the probe can be used to identify the presence or absence of that gene in a sample. Options B, C, and D are incorrect because they do not accurately describe the principle behind nucleic acid probe design.

The Principle Behind a Nucleic Acid Probe Design Is That