small RNA from Nematostella vectensis injected with double-stranded RNA
RNA interference (RNAi) is an antiviral mechanism based on processing of viral double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that lead to destruction of the viral RNA. In this study, we injected dsRNA to zygotes of the model sea anemone Nematostella vectensis to test if cnidarians (sea anemones, corals, jellyfish and hydroids) also employ RNAi as an immune response similarly to nematodes and flies, in order to shed light on the evolution of antiviral RNAi. We injected dsRNA carrying GFP sequence to both actin::GFP transgenic anemones and to wild-types and sequenced small RNAs from injected animals.