Southern blot
A test commonly used in molecular biology and genetics, the purpose of the test being to check for a match between DNA molecules. In the Southern blot technique, DNA fragments are separated by a method called agarose gel electrophoresis, transferred (blotted) onto membrane filters, and hybridized with complementary radiolabeled probes. The aim is to detect specific base sequences with the probes. Lest all of this sound esoteric, note that in the television series "The X Files" a Southern blot was done (in this case, to learn if some alien virus genome had been integrated into a person’s genome). The Southern blot is named after its inventor, the British biologist M.E. Southern. There is also a Northern blot and a Western blot.
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South·ern blot 'səth-ərn- n a blot consisting of a sheet of cellulose nitrate or nylon that contains spots of DNA for identification by a suitable molecular probe
compare NORTHERN BLOT, WESTERN BLOT
Southern blot·ting -'blät-iŋ n
Southern Edwin M. (fl 1975)
British molecular biologist. In 1975 Southern delineated a method for identifying specific DNA sequences that had been previously separated by gel electrophoresis.
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[E.M. Southern] a blot obtained by transferring denatured DNA fragments separated by agarose gel electrophoresis to a nitrocellulose or nylon membrane, followed by hybridization to a labeled DNA or RNA probe; used to detect and analyze specific DNA sequences.
Medical dictionary.
2011.