Recent review of in vivo RNAi screening

Yamamoto-Hino M, Goto S. In Vivo RNAi-Based Screens: Studies in Model Organisms. Genes (Basel). 2013 Nov 25;4(4):646-65. PMID: 24705267.

Breaking Report: dsRNA Uptake

Also on my desk to read today?  This paper, which includes a description of what happens following introduction of C. elegans SID-2 into Drosophila S2 cells.

McEwan DL, Weisman AS, Hunter CP. Uptake of Extracellular Double-Stranded RNA by SID-2. Mol Cell. 2012 Aug 14. PMID: 22902558

SID-1 Gives a Boost to Fly RNAi?

What's on my desk today?

Pathak et al. (2010) Evidence that Myosin activity opposes microtubule-based axonal transport of mitochondria. Journal of Neuroscience 30(26):8984-8992.

As described in the report, they use a fly strain expressing C. elegans SID-1 in neurons as a means to boost the RNAi effect in a subsequent primary culture RNAi experiment.

Breaking Report: Fly RNAi & Huntington Disease Model

What's on my desk today?

A report that includes data from a genome-wide screen performed at the DRSC:

Zhang et al. (2010) A Genome-wide RNAi Screen for Modifiers of Aggregates Formation by Mutant Huntingtin in Drosophila. Genetics. 2010 Jan 25. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 20100940.

The paper includes a note added during preparation comparing these results with results of a similar study by Doumanis et al. (2009) [blogged about here last fall ], as well as comparison with similar work in C. elegans.

Recent Review: RNAi Routes to Studying Aging

Another paper on my desk today--a mini-review on using RNAi screens, such as in C. elegans and in vivo in flies, to study aging.

Minois et al (2010). RNA Interference in Ageing Research - A Mini-Review. Gerontology. PubMed PMID: 20090308.

Related Links (resources for in vivo RNAi in Drosophila):

Vienna Drosophila RNAi Center (VDRC)

NIG-BIO Japan RNAi Fly Stocks

Trangenic RNAi Project (TRiP) at Harvard Med School

Cell Special Issue on RNA

Of course using RNAi screening to study some topic and the study of RNAi (or RNA more generally) are not one and the same.  

But we put ourselves in the best position for screening--in terms of reagent development and data interpretation, for example--by keeping up on at least some of the wealth of info that's coming out about RNA.

With this in mind, what's on my desk today?  The special issue on RNA from Cell.  Cover photo shown here.

dsRNA Transport & Systemic RNAi

What am I reading today? Some reports on SID-1, an RNA transporter from C. elegans.

Feinberg & Hunter (2003) Transport of dsRNA into cells by the transmembrane protein SID-1. Science 301: 1545-1547. PubMed ID 12970568.

Shih et al. (2009) The SID-1 double-stranded RNA transporter is not selective for dsRNA length. RNA. DOI 10.1261/rna.1286409. PubMed ID 19155320.

Jose et al. (2009) Export of RNAi silencing for C. elegans does not require the RNA channel SID-1. PNAS.  PubMed ID 19168628.

Why am I reading these? (1) Introduction of SID-1 into Drosophila cells can sensitize them to dsRNA treatment, presumably by facilitating uptake. (2) In C. elegans, RNAi effects spread systemically, a phenomenon not observed in Drosophila. But it looks like SID-1 is not the whole answer when it comes to systemic spread.

Related of interest:

Hunter et al. (2006) Systemic RNAi in Caenorhabditis elegans. CSH Symp Quant Biol. 71:95-100. PubMed ID 17381285.

Tomoyasu et al. (2008) Exploring systemic RNA interference in insects: a genome-wide survey for RNAi genes in Tribolium. Genome Biol 9(1):R10. PubMed ID 18201385. Free full text at Genome Biology.