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RNA Interference Screening for Genes Regulating Drosophila Muscle Morphogenesis

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Myogenesis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1889))

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is the method of choice to systematically test for gene function in an intact organism. The model organism Drosophila has the advantage that RNAi is cell autonomous, meaning it does not spread from one cell to the next. Hence, RNAi can be performed in a tissue-specific manner by expressing short or long inverted repeat constructs (hairpins) designed to target mRNAs from one specific target gene. This achieves tissue-specific knock-down of a target gene of choice. Here, we detail the methodology to test gene function in Drosophila muscle tissue by expressing hairpins in a muscle-specific manner using the GAL4-UAS system. We further discuss the systematic RNAi resource collections available which also permit large scale screens in a muscle-specific manner. The full power of such screens is revealed by combination of high-throughput assays followed by detailed morphological assays. Together, this chapter should be a practical guide to enable the reader to either test a few candidate genes, or large gene sets for particular functions in Drosophila muscle tissue and provide first insights into the biological process the gene might be important for in muscle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, IBDM, Marseille, France

    Aynur Kaya-Çopur & Frank Schnorrer

Authors
  1. Aynur Kaya-Çopur
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  2. Frank Schnorrer
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Correspondence to Frank Schnorrer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Nofima AS, Ã…s, Norway

    Sissel Beate Rønning

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Kaya-Çopur, A., Schnorrer, F. (2019). RNA Interference Screening for Genes Regulating Drosophila Muscle Morphogenesis. In: Rønning, S. (eds) Myogenesis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1889. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8897-6_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8897-6_20

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8896-9

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