RNA interference screens are questioned

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RNA interference screens are questioned
September 12, 2006
DailyIndia.com
SANFORD, Calif., Sept. 12 (UPI)-U.S. geneticists say many genes identified as targets of RNA interference, or RNAi, in the fruitfly Drosophila might be false.

During RNAi, short fragments of RNA bind to complementary sequences in the messenger RNA produced by a target gene, effectively silencing expression of that gene. Some studies have suggested that these small RNAs can each have hundreds of target genes in a genome.
Philip Beachy and colleagues at Stanford University say many proposed targets of RNAi screens might be artifacts.
The team searched for new members of the well-studied Wingless signaling pathway by inserting multiple interfering RNAs into Drosophila cells. They found the RNAs displayed significant off-target effects: the majority of targets are false positives resulting from interactions between three-letter repeats present in the target genes and the interfering RNAs, and from indirect effects on known Wingless pathway components.
The authors suggest several measures to produce more reliable lists of genes targeted by RNAi.
The research is available online in the journal Nature.