Fluorescent in Situ Hybridisation (FISH) Technology

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a molecular cytogenetic technique that uses fluorescent probes that bind to only particular parts of a nucleic acid sequence with a high degree of sequence complementarity to detect and localize the presence or absence of a specific DNA sequence or an entire chromosome in a cell. Fluorescence microscopy can be used to find out where the fluorescent probe is bound to the chromosomes. FISH is often used for finding specific features in DNA for use in genetic counseling, medicine, and species identification. FISH can also be used to detect and localize specific RNA targets (mRNA, lncRNA and miRNA)[citation needed] in cells, circulating tumor cells, and tissue samples.