Repeated probing of Southwestern blots using alkaline phosphatase stripping

Southwestern blotting is when a DNA sequence is used to probe DNA-binding proteins on an electrophoretic gel blot. It would be highly desirable to be able to probe a blot repeatedly with different DNA sequences. Alkaline phosphatase can remove 5'-phosphoryl groups from DNA and radiolabeled 5'-(32)P-DNA probes are commonly used in Southwestern blotting. Here is shown that once probed, the radioisotope signal on the blot can be effectively removed by brief digestion with alkaline phosphatase, and the blot can then be repeatedly probed at least six times with different DNA probes. This exceeds the repetitions possible with another commonly used method using SDS. The technique can be used with either one-dimensional or multi-dimensional Southwestern blots and does not have a large effect on the phosphorylation state of the blotted proteins. An alternative method using T4 polynucleotide kinase stripping is also introduced but was less well characterized.