Question

How do radioactive DNA probes work?

Answer 1

DNA probes are usually labeled and are stretches of single-stranded DNA and there are many functions of DNA probes like DNA fingerprinting, detection of pathogen bacteria, and they are mainly used to identify complementary nucleic acid sequences by the process of hybridization.

Complete answer:
With a radioactive tag of single strands of DNA or RNA are known as radioactive DNA probes and in an array of other DNA, researchers want to find their sequences that are complementary to a single sequence of DNA.
Then the researchers tag this probe and release it then to see where it binds in the array of DNA, they track it, and after they bind the researchers to get to know about their target DNA.

And to make it radioactive there are different isotope that is used in DNA probes in which with a molecular marker the probe is tagged with either radioactive and fluorescence molecule and this all done to detect hybridization of the probe to its target DNA
Probes have major use in different fields like to diagnose the presence of a single gene defect in the fetus then it can be done by using disease-specific probes and this is also known as antenatal diagnosis probes are also used for the study of gene transfer and mechanism of adaptation of bacterial communities.

Note: As discussed above probes have many useful applications as it is also used to monitor recombinant DNA clones in microorganisms and also used in the process of medical genetics.