Northern hybridization analysis of RNA using diethylpyrocarbonate-treated nonfat milk

A simple and relatively inexpensive method for hybridizing RNA that is immobilized on nitrocellulose to a radioactive DNA probe is presented. The procedure, a modification of the Bovine Lacto Transfer Technique Optimizer method of Johnson et al. (1984) Gene Anal. Tech. 1, 3-8, uses nonfat milk which has been treated with the RNase inhibitor, diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC), to saturate nonspecific binding sites on nitrocellulose paper, and to wash off unbound radioactivity. The DEPC-nonfat milk hybridization technique is faster, less costly, and more reliable than standard Northern blot hybridization conditions, yielding sharp, clear bands of RNA on autoradiographs with virtually no background reactivity.