What is the term for the technique used to detect mutated genes?

Autoradiography

The technique described is known as "autoradiography with a radioactive probe."

In this technique, a single-stranded DNA or RNA molecule, labeled with a radioactive molecule (probe), is allowed to bind or hybridize to its complementary DNA in a clone of cells. The cells are then exposed to a photographic film using autoradiography for detection.

If the clone of cells contains a mutated gene, the probe will not have complementarity with the mutated gene. Consequently, the mutated gene will not bind to the probe, and as a result, it will not produce a signal on the photographic film. In contrast, the cells with the non-mutated gene will show a signal on the photographic film since the probe binds to the complementary non-mutated gene.

By analyzing the photographic film, researchers can identify the presence or absence of the mutated gene in the clone of cells, making this technique valuable for detecting mutations in genes.