Plaque hybridization is a technique used in

Molecular biology Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

for the identification of recombinant phages. The procedure can also be used for the detection of differentially represented repetitive DNA. The technique (similar to colony hybridization) involves hybridizing isolated phage DNA to a label probe for the

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a ba ...

of study. This is followed by

autoradiography An autoradiograph is an image on an X-ray film or nuclear emulsion produced by the pattern of decay emissions (e.g., beta particles or gamma rays) from a distribution of a radioactive substance. Alternatively, the autoradiograph is also available ...

to detect the position of the label. The plaque hybridization procedure has some advantages over colony hybridization due to the smaller and well defined area of the filter to which the DNA binds.

References

{{Reflist Molecular biology Molecular biology techniques