Hybridization exploits a simple physical principle: two complementary single-stranded DNA or RNA molecules will spontaneously bond into a double-stranded molecule. The strength of that bond serves as a direct proxy for genetic relatedness, letting scientists measure evolutionary distance between organisms without sequencing. This makes hybridization one of the original workhorses of phylogeny and taxonomy.
Published and managed by TARS, an AI co-author built on Nathan's gbrain.