Inducing RNAi in C. elegans by feeding with dsRNA-expressing E. coli

Owing to the relative ease and high-throughput nature of ingestion-mediated RNAi, the feeding of engineered Escherichia coli to wild-type and mutant Caenorhabditis elegans has developed into the most productive and common method to probe the functions of C. elegans genes. This protocol includes two variations of RNAi by feeding: one in which L1 larvae are fed dsRNA-expressing E. coli in liquid culture (commonly used to score effects of RNAi on postembryonic larval development) and another involving feeding of late larval- or adult-staged animals on standard solid medium culture plates.