Synonymous with oligodeoxyribonucleotide, they are short chains of nucleotides (i.e., single-stranded DNA or RNA) that have been synthesized (i.e., made) by chemically linking together a number of specific nucleotides. Oligonucleotides (also called, simply “oligos”) are used as synthetic (i.e., man-made) genes, DNA probes, and in site-directed mutagenesis.
A compound made up of a small number of nucleotide units.