A modified feeding RNAi method for simultaneous knock-down of more than one gene in Caenorhabditis elegans

Biotechniques. 2010 Mar;48(3):229-32. doi: 10.2144/000113365.

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is a commonly used technique for reverse genetic approaches in Caenorhabditis elegans. Feeding RNAi is the most convenient and inexpensive method for performing genome-wide RNAi screens. However, it has been reported that knock-down of two genes (double RNAi) by feeding RNAi using a mixture of bacteria that each contained one dsRNA species produced poor results. To overcome this problem of inefficiency, we designed and tested a double feeding RNAi method using a single RNAi construct containing two gene fragments. From experiments with three different sets of genes, we found that the new double RNAi method consistently produced significantly enhanced double knock-down phenotypes. The double feeding RNAi approach described here provides a method to consistently examine phenotypes caused by depletion of more than one gene in C. elegans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics*
  • Gene Knockdown Techniques / methods*
  • Molecular Biology / methods*
  • Phenotype
  • RNA Interference*

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins