X-gal
Chemical compound
Why this is trending
Interest in “X-gal” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-02-27.
Categorised under Science & Nature, this article fits a familiar pattern. Interest in science articles on Wikipedia often follows major discoveries, published studies, or tech industry news.
GlyphSignal tracks these patterns daily, turning raw Wikipedia traffic data into a curated feed of what the world is curious about. Every spike tells a story.
Key Takeaways
- X-gal (also abbreviated BCIG for 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β- D -galactopyranoside) is an organic compound consisting of galactose linked to a substituted indole.
- The formal chemical name is often shortened to less accurate but also less cumbersome phrases such as bromochloroindoxyl galactoside .
- X-gal is often used in molecular biology to test for the presence of an enzyme, β-galactosidase, in the place of its usual target, a β-galactoside.
- X-gal is one of many indoxyl glycosides and esters that yield insoluble blue compounds similar to indigo dye as a result of enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis.
- 22) instead of β-galactosidase (EC 3.
X-gal (also abbreviated BCIG for 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-β-D-galactopyranoside) is an organic compound consisting of galactose linked to a substituted indole. The compound was synthesized by Jerome Horwitz and collaborators in 1964. The formal chemical name is often shortened to less accurate but also less cumbersome phrases such as bromochloroindoxyl galactoside. The X from indoxyl may be the source of the X in the X-gal contraction. X-gal is often used in molecular biology to test for the presence of an enzyme, β-galactosidase, in the place of its usual target, a β-galactoside. It is also used to detect activity of this enzyme in histochemistry and bacteriology. X-gal is one of many indoxyl glycosides and esters that yield insoluble blue compounds similar to indigo dye as a result of enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis.
A less often used but very similar (chiral) compound is X--gal (Xαgal, X-alpha-gal), or 5-Bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-α-D-galactopyranoside, which is hydrolyzed by α-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.22) instead of β-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23).
Content sourced from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0
