Which one of the following statements gives the correct explanation for autoradiography?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) – Clones which have mutated genes will not appear on the photographic film
In autoradiography, a single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule, labeled with a radioactive probe, is allowed to hybridize to its complementary DNA in a clone of cells. The detection of this hybridization is carried out using photographic film.
Clones that have the mutated gene will not appear on the photographic film because the labeled probe used in autoradiography specifically binds to the complementary sequences in the DNA or RNA.
If the gene in the clone is mutated, the probe will not have complementarity with the mutated gene, and as a result, no signal will be detected on the photographic film for that specific clone.