The Journal of Neuroscience, 2002, 22:RC227:1-5
RAPID COMMUNICATION
Suppression of Nitric Oxide (NO)-Dependent Behavior by
Double-Stranded RNA-Mediated Silencing of a Neuronal NO
Synthase Gene
Sergei A.
Korneev,
Ildikó
Kemenes,
Volko
Straub,
Kevin
Staras,
Elena I.
Korneeva,
György
Kemenes,
Paul R.
Benjamin, and
Michael
O'Shea
Sussex Centre for Neuroscience, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1
9QG, United Kingdom
We have used double-stranded RNA (dsRNA)-mediated RNA interference
(RNAi) to disrupt neuronal nitric oxide (NO) synthase (nNOS) gene
function in the snail Lymnaea stagnalis and have
detected a specific behavioral phenotype. The injection of whole
animals with synthetic dsRNA molecules targeted to the nNOS-encoding
mRNA reduces feeding behavior in vivo and fictive
feeding in vitro and interferes with NO synthesis by the
CNS. By showing that synthetic dsRNA targeted to the nNOS mRNA causes a
significant and long-lasting reduction in the levels of
Lym-nNOS mRNA, we verify that specific RNAi has
occurred. Importantly, our results establish that the expression of
nNOS gene is essential for normal feeding behavior. They also show that
dsRNA can be used in the investigation of functional gene expression in
the context of whole animal behavior, regardless of the availability of
targeted mutation technologies.
Key words:
nNOS; dsRNA; RNAi; gene silencing; feeding behavior; Lymnaea stagnalis
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