Northern blotting

Northern blotting is the main method for examining the expression of genes through measurement of an mRNA. Tissue specificity and the factors which regulate expression can both be determined by Northern blotting. A cDNA radioactively labelled with 32P is the most-commonly-used hybridization probe. Convenient, non-radioactive detection protocols are, however, increasingly available. A combination of anti-sense oligonucleotides as probes, together with chemiluminescence-based detection provides a rapid and simplified approach to Northern blotting, increasing the accessibility of this important procedure for nutritional studies.