About Rad51D
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the RAD51 protein family. RAD51 family members are highly similar to bacterial RecA and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad51, which are known to be involved in the homologous recombination and repair of DNA. This protein forms a complex with several other members of the RAD51 family, including RAD51L1, RAD51L2, and XRCC2. The protein complex formed with this protein has been shown to catalyze homologous pairing between single- and double-stranded DNA, and is thought to play a role in the early stage of recombinational repair of DNA. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants. Read-through transcription also exists between this gene and the downstream ring finger and FYVE-like domain containing 1 (RFFL) gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jan 2011]

About FITC
Fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) has an excitation peak at 495 nm and an emission peak at 519 nm. The name FITC is a misnomer in that the isothiocyanate is a reactive form of this dye. Once FITC is conjugated to an antibody, it is simply Fluorescein conjugated. FITC is one of the most widely used dyes for fluorescent applications, therefore most instruments come standard with a 488 nm laser and FITC filter set up. FITC is commonly conjugated to secondary antibodies and used in applications such as flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, and immunohistochemistry. FITC is relatively dim, sensitive to photobleaching and it is susceptible to changes is pH. There are better performing alternatives to FITC, like Vio®Bright 515, Alexa Fluor™ 488, iFluor® 488, CF®488A and DY-488. FITC is a long-time generic dye with no sole manufacturer or trademark.