What is digoxigenin?

Digoxigenin (DIG) is a hapten found exclusively in plants of the genus Digitalis. Digoxigenin is used in many molecular biology techniques such as in situ hybridization (ISH). Typically, digoxigenin is conjugated to biomolecules, such as proteins and nucleic acids. The digoxigenin-labeled probe is detected by an enzyme-linked immunoassay using an antibody to digoxigenin (anti-DIG) to which alkaline phosphatase has been conjugated. A chromogenic or chemiluminogenic substrate for alkaline phosphatase can then be used to detect the DIG-labeled probe. The high specificity between DIG and anti-DIG results in a detection system with low background.