Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Enhanced Northern Blot Detection of Small RNA Species in Drosophila Melanogaster
Published on: August 21, 2014
A simplified miRNA-based gene silencing method for Drosophila melanogaster
Benjamin Haley1, David Hendrix, Vinh Trang
1Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Division of Genetics, Genomics, and Development, Center for Integrative Genomics, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. benhaley@berkeley.edu
Abstract:
MicroRNA-based RNA interference is commonly used to produce loss-of-function phenotypes in mammalian systems, but is used only sparingly in invertebrates such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we evaluate this method in transgenic strains of D. melanogaster and cultured S2 cells. High throughput-ready expression vectors were developed that permit rapid cloning of synthetic hairpin RNAs. As proof of concept, this method was used for the efficient silencing of dpp gene activity in the adult wing, and the analysis of the general RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) elongation factor, Nelf-E.
Related Concept Videos
Experimental RNAi
MicroRNAs
MicroRNAs
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...

