RNAi can unite the precision view from microscopy and the unbiased search from a genetic screen, said Ron Vale (University of California, San Francisco [UCSF], CA). The necessary tools for fly researchers are genome-wide RNAi, high throughput microscopy, and some fancy image processing.
The power of RNAi and microscopy are united in high throughput screens; shown is a panel of metaphase spindle images.
VALE
“It's a hard project for a single person, and it does take technology and a certain amount of money,” said Vale. “At the same time, whole genome screens are possible to do within individual labs. They do not need to be done within giant consortia.”
Vale has previously used RNAi to knock down the activity of 26 microtubule motors in the fly S2 cell line. At the meeting, he presented the results from a genome-wide RNAi screen in S2 cells for...
