title: Detrimental effects of RNAi: a cautionary note on its use in Drosophila ageing studies.
abstract: RNA interference (RNAi) provides an important tool for gene function discovery. It has been widely exploited in Caenorhabditis elegans ageing research because it does not appear to have any non-specific effects on ageing-related traits in that model organism. We show here that ubiquitous, adult-onset activation of the RNAi machinery, achieved by expressing a double stranded RNA targeting GFP or lacZ for degradation, or by increasing expression of Dicer substantially reduces lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster. Induction of GFPRNAi construct also alters the response of lifespan to nutrition, exacerbating the lifespan-shortening effects of food containing a high quantity of yeast. Our study indicates that activation of the RNAi machinery may have sequence-independent side-effects on lifespan, and that caution needs to be exercised when employing ubiquitous RNAi in Drosophila ageing studies. However, we also show that RNAi restricted to certain tissues may not be detrimental to lifespan.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Healthy Ageing, and GEE, University College London, London, United Kingdom. n.alic@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Nazif
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alic
authors.forename: Matthew P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hoddinott
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Foley
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Slack
authors.forename: Matthew D W
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Piper
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Partridge
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D034622:RNA Interference; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins