During which step of the Southern Blot process is the gel transferred to a nylon membrane?

The step during which the gel is transferred to a nylon membrane is known as blotting. In this phase of the Southern Blot technique, the DNA fragments that have been separated on the gel through gel electrophoresis are transferred to the membrane, typically made of nylon or nitrocellulose. This transfer is crucial as it allows for the subsequent hybridization step, where specific DNA probes can bind to the target sequences on the membrane.

The blotting process applies either capillary action or vacuum transfer, ensuring that the DNA maintains its relative positions as it moves from the gel to the membrane. This step is essential for the detection and analysis of specific DNA sequences, as it creates a stable platform where the DNA can be probed, visualized, and quantified in later stages.

The other steps in the Southern Blot process—gel electrophoresis, restriction enzyme cutting, and hybridization—serve different purposes. Gel electrophoresis is used to separate DNA fragments by size, restriction enzyme cutting prepares the DNA by cleaving it into manageable pieces, and hybridization involves the binding of labeled probes to the complementary DNA sequences after the blotting has occurred.