RNA interference approaches to examine Golgi function in animal cell culture

The ability to deplete specific proteins from cells has transformed cell biology. Targeting of gene transcripts using RNA interference has allowed for a highly refined approach to the analysis of gene function that has been applied to all aspects of cell biology. Developments of the technology have reached a point where it is now a relatively trivial task to assess the role of an individual protein in a particular cell function. RNAi also allows for genome-wide screening as a discovery step toward the identification of new components of cellular pathways and machines. The technique has been applied extensively to the analysis of Golgi complex function, leading to significant insight into the biology of this complex organelle. Here, we describe the commonly used options for targeting individual genes for both transient and stable knockdown. We consider the alternative methods for introducing these reagents into cells and outline methods that we and others have used widely for validation of specificity and efficacy of gene targeting.