RNA干扰在哺乳动物细胞高通量基因功能研究中的应用

Application of RNAi in the Studies of Mammalian Cell Gene Functions

RNA干扰(RNAi)技术是近年来迅速发展起来的一种高效、特异、易操作的基因阻断技术,它已被应用于线虫、果蝇等低等生物的大规模功能丧失表型遗传学筛选中,并成功鉴定了大量的新基因。近期,在利用现有siRNA文库进行的小规模哺乳动物细胞功能基因筛选研究中,RNAi同样显示了卓越的性能。随着高复杂度的siRNA文库的构建和筛选策略的完善,RNAi在哺乳动物细胞高通量基因功能研究中的应用已日见成熟。

RNA interference technology is a newly-developed simple gene-silencing tool with high specificity and high efficiency. Genome-wide RNAi surveys of gene function have been carried out in Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila and other lower organisms, and the function of many new genes were successfully identified in these studies. Recently, some RNAi screening studies in mammalian cells using existing siRNA libraries also showed the application of large-scale RNAi screening in the notation of mammalian genes. With the construction of whole-genome siRNA libraries and the development of effective screening strategies, the days of applying RNAi to the study of mammalian cell high-throughput gene functions are just around the comer.