what is probe in biology
Probe in context of biology could mean two different things. A probe could be a sequence of nucleotide, DNA or RNA which could be used to detect the presence of a DNA or an RNA molecule in our sample. In the latest such exercise, we have the COVID RT PCR test which analyses for the presence of DNA corresponding to the viral RNA to detect the presence of virus in the sample. The SARS CoV 2 (being an RNA Virus) RNA is reverse transcribed into a string of DNA. This DNA will have complementarity, A binding to T, and G binding to C, to the probe. The probe DNA here will be a sequence established by research that must be identifying of SARS CoV. This probe DNA/RNA is labelled with radioactive or fluorescent molecules so that the visualisation of the binding is possible. This is used as a definitive test.
A Probe could also mean microelectrodes which can measure electrical activity in a neuron. This is frequently used to identify the function and part correlation in brain regions.
FAQ
What is probe in cell biology?
A probe is a piece of DNA/RNA use to identify the presence or absence of a target DNA/RNA based on complementarity A and T, G and C. These RNA/DNA segments are labelled with fluorescent or radioactive molecules to identify binding.
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