FROM HYBRIDIZATION IMAGE TO NUMERICAL VALUES - A PRACTICAL, HIGH-THROUGHPUT QUANTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR HIGH-DENSITY FILTER HYBRIDIZATIONS

Hybridization to sets of bacterial colonies or PCR products arrayed on high density filters is used in a number of experimental schemes. In many cases it is desirable to collect quantitative information ('hybri dization signatures') rather than indications on 'positive' and 'negat ive' colonies. We present a practical system, based on an imaging plat e analyser and a customized version of commercial software, that makes such quantification feasible, and define its performance in terms of reproducibility and linearity. The system is far superior to methods b ased on autoradiography and should be useful in many projects that inv olve the increasingly popular high density filter format.