Final answer:
Comparative genome hybridization is used to identify dosage changes such as duplications and deletions in the DNA, leading to variations in the number of copies of specific regions of the genome.
Step-by-step explanation:
Comparative genome hybridization (CGH) is a molecular cytogenetic method for analyzing copy number variations (CNVs) relative to ploidy level in the DNA of a test sample compared to a reference sample, without the need for cell culture. CGH can detect gain or loss of DNA regions and is used to identify dosage changes such as duplications and deletions, which represent an increase or decrease in the number of copies of a particular region of the genome. These copy number variations can play a role in genetic diseases, developmental abnormalities, and cancer. The technique is not designed to detect point mutations, frameshift mutations, alternative splicing, recombination, or small insertions and deletions.
Thus, the answer to the student's question is D: Comparative genome hybridization detects dosage changes in the DNA.