APA Dictionary of Psychology

a method of detecting a particular DNA sequence in a mixture of DNA molecules. It involves separating the DNAs with gel electrophoresis, blotting the separated DNAs onto nitrocellulose, then using a labeled DNA or RNA probe to hybridize with and highlight the DNA sequence of interest. Compare Northern blot; Western blot. [developed in the 1970s by Edwin Southern (1938–  ), British biochemist]