Why? I find myself on a fairly regular basis having to explain, to people with very different levels of understanding of relevant topics, what RNAi screening is and what it's good for. Seeing how other people explain it--in text and figures--is a help.
And I have to admit, "demystified" caught my eye. (The JCP editors must have realized the word is attention-getting--a "demystified" article series appears to be a regular feature of the journal.)
The first section of the article, RNA Interference (RNAi)--what, how and why? is among the most clear and concise summaries of RNAi screening I've read. Understandably, some of the in-depth bits they focus on (for example, the idea that optimization of transfection or transduction is of primary concern during assay development) are not necessarily what one would suggest for Drosophila RNAi screens. But if you're new to understanding the field, as a basic intro to RNAi screening in general, and in mammalian cells more specifically, this would be a fine place to start.
Note: Reviews on RNAi, and high-throughput cell-based RNAi screening more specifically, abound! Here are just a few more places to start if you're interested to read more.
Wolters & MacKeigan (2008) From sequence to function: using RNAi to elucidate mechanisms of human disease. Cell Death Differ. 15(5):809-19.
Echererri & Perrimon (2006) High-throughput RNAi screening in cultured cells: a user's guide. Nat. Rev. Genet. 7(5):373-84.
Mittal (2004) Improving the efficiency of RNA interference in mammals. Nat. Rev. Genet. 5(5):355-65.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment