Practice question

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization combines cytogenetics with fluorescence detection. Denatured metaphase chromosomes or interphase nuclei are hybridized with fluorescently labeled locus-specific, centromeric, or whole-chromosome painting probes. Upon specific binding, signals are visualized by fluorescence microscopy, allowing detection of aneuploidies, deletions, duplications, translocations, and amplifications. Unlike SAGE or CGH, FISH preserves cellular morphology and provides single-cell resolution. Comparative genomic hybridization assesses copy number changes but not balanced rearrangements with the same morphological precision afforded by probe-based in situ labeling and visualization.