Difference between Southern and Northern Blotting

Sothern blotting

• The technique was developed by E.M. Southern in 1975.
• The Southern blot is used to detect the presence of a particular DNA fragment in a sample.
• The DNA detected can be a single gene, or it can be part of a larger piece of DNA such as a viral genome.

Northern blotting

• The technique was developed by Alwine and his colleagues in 1979
• Technique for detecting specific RNAs separated by electrophoresis by hybridization to a labeled DNA probe.

 

Southern blotting	Northern blotting
Southern name of inventor	Northern a misnomer
Separation of DNA	Separation of RNA
Denaturation needed	Denaturation  not needed
Nitrocellulose filter membrane	Amino benzyloxymethyl filter paper Membrane
DNA-DNA  Hybridization	RNA-DNA Hybridization