Denaturation mapping
![Modern application of denaturation mapping: DNA is stained with a dye(green) that dissociates from single stranded DNA, changes in the environment like temperature increases that are not enough to completely dissociate the molecule causes parts of it to dissociate in a predictable manner from AT rich regions (red). fluorescence emissions from this partially denatured molecule is measured with photospectroscopy. The graph shown is a simplified output of such an analysis.](/Images/godic/202501/08/Denaturation_mapping1230.png")
Denaturation Mapping is a form of optical mapping, first described in 1966. It is used to characterize DNA molecules without the need for amplification or sequencing. It is based on the differences between the melting temperatures of AT-rich and GC-rich regions. Even though modern sequencing methods reduced the need for denaturation mapping, it is still being used for specific purposes, such as detection of large scale structural variants.