Stringency

Name:
Stringency
Detailed information:
A term used to describe the conditions of hybridization. By varying the conditions (especially salt concentration and temperature), a given probe sequence may be allowed to hybridize only with its exact complement (high stringency), or with any somewhat related sequences (relaxed or low stringency). Increasing the temperature or decreasing the salt concentration will tend to increase the selectivity of a hybridization reaction, and thus will raise the stringency.