A genome-wide RNAi screening method to discover novel genes involved in virus infection

Systematic and comprehensive analysis of host cell proteins involved in virus infection has been difficult in large part due to the lack of robust unbiased methods for their identification. Recent technological breakthroughs allowing development of cell-based genetic screens have greatly facilitated our understanding of virus-host interactions. These include instrumentation for processing in microtiter plates (e.g., 384 well), coupled with sensitive readers and off-the-shelf analysis and informatics pipelines. Because viruses are a significant threat to human health, a better understanding of the cellular factors that impact infection would pave the way for the development of new therapeutics. Here we describe the development and implementation of a genome-wide siRNA screen against a virus using human cells.