News Release

New tool for RNA silencing

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMC (BioMed Central)

Anti-sense reagents have been developed for C. Elegans micro RNA. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Silence have created the first class of reagents to potently and selectively inhibit miRNAs in this widely used model organism.

Wen-hong Li, from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, USA, worked with a team of researchers including Dr. Genhua Zheng and Dr. Victor Ambros (University of Massachusetts Medical School) to develop this latest addition to the genetics toolkit. He said, "Caenorhabditis elegans has long been used as a model organism for studying the regulation and function of small non-coding RNA molecules, and yet no antisense reagents have been available to reliably inhibit miRNAs in worms. Our fluorescently labeled reagents were synthesized by conjugating dextran with 2'-O-methyl oligoribonucleotide, and can be conveniently introduced into the germline of adult hermaphrodites and are transmitted to their progeny".

Li's team found that their new reagents efficiently and specifically inhibited targeted miRNA in different tissues, including the hypodermis, the vulva and the nervous system. They can be used combinatorially to inhibit more than one miRNA in the same animal. They conclude, "Combined with numerous mutants or reporter stains available, these reagents should provide a convenient approach to examine genetic interactions that involve miRNA, and may facilitate studying functions of miRNAs, especially ones whose deletion strains are difficult to generate. Further, the remarkable efficacy of these antisense reagents seen in worms also suggested C. elegans as a powerful, convenient, and economical biological system to facilitate developing new chemistry and novel probes for studying miRNA and other small non-coding RNAs".

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Notes to Editors

1. Inhibiting miRNA in Caenorhabditis elegans using a potent and selective antisense reagent
Genhua Zheng, Victor Ambros and Wen-hong Li
Silence 2010, 1:9 doi:10.1186/1758-907X-1-9

Article available at journal website: http://www.silencejournal.com/content/1/1/9

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

2. In an accompanying minireview, in the Journal of Biology, Samrat Kundu and Frank Slack from Yale University discuss this research: http://jbiol.com/content/9/3/20

3. Silence is an open access peer reviewed journal, which aims to feature research involving small RNA molecules, and submissions are invited describing novel insights into the biogenesis and activity of such molecules. Silence also encourages bioinformatic and computational methods articles describing results and protocols that are accessible to molecular biologists and geneticists.

4. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

5. Beyond the Genome:
The true gene count, human evolution and disease genomics
Joseph B. Martin Conference Center,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
11th – 13th October 2010

This international conference brings together leading researchers and industry representatives who will review recent progress in key areas of post-genomic research in biology and medicine and chart future developments, including the Human Microbiome Project and the resequencing of matched tumour and normal genomes from specific types of cancers. Those already coming are seeking to keep abreast with the latest developments in key areas and initiatives that are at the forefront of genomic research.

Media passes now available. Email charlotte.webber@biomedcentral.com to register your interest

www.beyondthegenome2010.com


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