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A laboratory technique for measuring the similarity of the DNA of two species. DNA from each species is denatured by heat into single strands and a mixture of the DNA strands is incubated allowing them to recombine into hybrid DNA, a process called annealing. The amount of annealing is directly proportional to the similarity of the DNA strands and can be measured by heating the hybrid DNA and recording the temperature at which the strands separate. DNA hybridization studies in the grasses showed wheat and rye to be closely related and both to be close to barley but not to oats. This supports the traditional classification of wheat, rye, and barley in the tribe Triticeae and oats in the tribe Aveneae.
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