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Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis for the Separation of DNA Fragments
Published on: April 20, 2012
Modified agarose gel for high-performance Southern blotting of short DNA fragments
Wei-Hong Huang1, Xiu-Ying Huang, Fang-Zhen Sun
1Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Southern blotting is a common method used for the study of gene organization. Current methods of DNA transfer for Southern blotting, however, can be inefficient for high concentration agarose gels. Here, we report a method for high-performance Southern blotting of short DNA fragments such as nucleosomal DNAs by using a discontinuous agarose zone gel. The results show that sharp and well-resolved fractionation of short DNA fragments comparable to that from a high-concentration agarose gel could be obtained using a low-concentration agarose gel with a small zone of high-concentration agarose, and that the resulting DNA transfer is highly efficient and rapid.
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