Specific RNA Interference in Caenorhabditis elegans by Ingested dsRNA Expressed in Bacillus subtilis.
In nematodes, genome-wide RNAi-screening has been widely used as a rapid and efficient method to identify genes involved in the aging processes. By far the easiest way of inducing RNA interference (RNAi) in Caenorhabditis elegans is by feeding Escherichia coli that expresses specific double stranded RNA (dsRNA) to knockdown translation of targeted mRNAs. However, it has been shown that E. coli is mildly pathogenic to C. elegans and this pathogenicity might influence aging and the accuracy of the RNAi-screening during aging may as well be affected. Here, we describe a novel system that utilizes the non-pathogenic bacterium Bacillus subtilis, to express dsRNA and therefore eliminates the effects of bacterial pathogenicity from the genetic analysis of aging.
Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Marco
M
Lezzerini
Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Koen
K
van de Ven
Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Martijn
M
Veerman
Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Stanley
S
Brul
Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Yelena V
YV
Budovskaya
D000818:Animals; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D034622:RNA Interference / Q000502:physiology*; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics*
D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded