A genomewide screen for components of the RNAi pathway in <i>Drosophila</i> cultured cells

Abstract

Posttranscriptional silencing by RNAi is initiated by dsRNAs that are processed into siRNAs that ultimately target homologous mRNAs for degradation. We used luciferase reporter constructs and a cultured cell-based assay to perform a genomewide screen for components of the RNAi pathway in Drosophila melanogaster. The screen identified seven genes that affect the RNAi response, five with previously described function (AGO2, Tis11, Hsc70-3, Hsc70-4, and hdc) and two annotated genes (CG17265 and CG10883).