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Application of RNAi Technology and Fluorescent Protein Markers to Study Membrane Traffic in C. elegans

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Exocytosis and Endocytosis

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1174))

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool to study the intracellular membrane transport and membrane organelle behavior in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This model organism has gained popularity in the trafficking field because of its relative simplicity, yet being multicellular. C. elegans is fully sequenced and has an annotated genome, it is easy to maintain, and a growing number of transgenic strains bearing markers for different membrane compartments are available. C. elegans is particularly well suited for protein downregulation by RNAi because of the simple but efficient methods of dsRNA delivery. The phenomenon of systemic RNAi in the worm further facilitates this approach. In this chapter we describe methods and applications of RNAi in the field of membrane traffic. We summarize the fluorescent markers used as a readout for the effects of gene knockdown in different cells and tissues and give details for data acquisition and analysis.

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Acknowledgements

Protocols were based on many works published by members of the worm research community. We apologize for any omissions in reference. We would like to acknowledge funding by the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and the Swiss National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 70, Basel, 4056, Switzerland

    Jachen A. Solinger, Dmitry Poteryaev & Anne Spang

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  1. Jachen A. Solinger
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  2. Dmitry Poteryaev
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  3. Anne Spang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Spang .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Andrei I. Ivanov

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Solinger, J.A., Poteryaev, D., Spang, A. (2014). Application of RNAi Technology and Fluorescent Protein Markers to Study Membrane Traffic in C. elegans . In: Ivanov, A. (eds) Exocytosis and Endocytosis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1174. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0944-5_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0944-5_23

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-0943-8

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