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Breen, Matthew, PhD. C.Biol. M.I.Biol
Associate Professor of Genomics

Molecular cytogenetics

Molecular cytogenetics involves the combination of molecular biology and cytogenetics. In general this involves the use of a series of techniques referred to as fluorescence in situ hybridization, or FISH, in which we use DNA probes labeled with different colored fluorescent tags to visualize one or more specific regions of the genome. FISH can either performed as a direct approach, in which we use either metaphase chromosomes or interphase nuclei, or as an indirect approach, which involves the use of comparative genomics hybridization (CGH) analysis to asses the entire genome for of imbalanced chromosomal material.