Question: What is DNA HYBRIDIZATION?
ANSWER: DNA hybridization is a biotechnology that makes it possible to identify the degree of similarity between two or more molecules of this nucleic acid, originating from different sources. It is easier to understand from the sequence of procedures below, very simplified:
- Consider a strand of DNA taken from person X.
- The two nucleotide chains were separated by helicases, their hydrogen bonds were broken and two complementary strands were obtained.
- The two tapes were separated into different containers.4
- If they are NATURALLY reassembled, they will reassemble by affinity A-T (the nitrogen bases adenine with thymine) and G-C (guanine with cytosine) restoring the original molecule to 100%. This spontaneous restoration is called HYBRIDIZATION. If the reunification is complete we will have a 100% hybridization.
The degree of hybridization between single strands of DNA from organisms of different species is proportional to the genetic differences between them and, therefore, their degree of relatedness or phylogenetic distance. Therefore, the percentage of DNA hybridization between a human and a chimpanzee will be much higher than between the DNA of a person and the DNA of a spinach plant.
