The Overall Purpose of DGGE is To

Question

The overall purpose of DGGE is to
A) separate genes that differ in length.
B) measure the activity of cells that use DGGE as an energy source.
C) detect cells that utilize a specific radiolabeled substrate.
D) separate genes of the same length that have different sequences, resulting in different denaturation profiles.

Accepted Answer

DGGE works by separating DNA fragments of the same length but different sequences based on their denaturation profiles. Essentially, the DNA is subjected to increasingly harsh denaturing conditions (e.g. high temperature or chemical denaturants) until individual base pairs begin to separate. This creates a "melting curve" for each fragment, which is unique based on the sequence. By comparing the denaturation profiles of different samples, researchers can identify differences in the DNA sequences present.