Peptide nucleic acid pre-gel hybridization: An alternative to Southern hybridization

摘要

We have found that it is possible to use labeled peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-oligomers as probes in pre-gel hybridization experiments, as an alternative for Southern hybridization. In this technique, the PNA probe is hybridized to a denatured DNA sample at low ionic strength and the mixture is loaded directly on to an electrophoresis system for size separation. Ensuing gel electrophoresis sepa- rates the single-stranded DNA fragments by length. The neutral backbone of PNA allows for hybridization at low ionic strength and imparts very low mobility to excess PNA.