Nucleic acid hybridization Nucleic acid hybridization In molecular biology, hybridization (or hybridisation) is a phenomenon in which single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules anneal to complementary DNA or RNA. Though a double-stranded DNA sequence is generally stable under physiological conditions, changing these conditions in the laboratory (generally by raising the surrounding temperature) will cause the molecules to separate into single strands. These strands are complementary to each other but may also be complementary to other sequences present in their surroundings. Lowering the surrounding temperature allows the single-stranded molecules to anneal or “hybridize” to each other. DNA replication and transcription of
Isocitric acid Isocitric acid Isocitric acid is a structural isomer of citric acid. Salts and esters of isocitric acid are known as isocitrates. The isocitrate anion is a substrate of the citric acid cycle. Isocitrate is formed from citrate with the help of the enzyme aconitase, and is acted upon by isocitrate dehydrogenase. Isocitric acid is commonly used as a marker to detect the authenticity and quality of fruit products, most often citrus juices. In authentic orange juice, for example, the ratio of citric acid to D-isocitric acid is usually less than 130. An isocitric acid value higher than this may be