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1: Science. 2004 Feb 6;303(5659):832-5.
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Genome-wide RNAi analysis of growth and viability in Drosophila cells.

Boutros M, Kiger AA, Armknecht S, Kerr K, Hild M, Koch B, Haas SA, Paro R, Perrimon N; Heidelberg Fly Array Consortium.

Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

A crucial aim upon completion of whole genome sequences is the functional analysis of all predicted genes. We have applied a high-throughput RNA-interference (RNAi) screen of 19,470 double-stranded (ds) RNAs in cultured cells to characterize the function of nearly all (91%) predicted Drosophila genes in cell growth and viability. We found 438 dsRNAs that identified essential genes, among which 80% lacked mutant alleles. A quantitative assay of cell number was applied to identify genes of known and uncharacterized functions. In particular, we demonstrate a role for the homolog of a mammalian acute myeloid leukemia gene (AML1) in cell survival. Such a systematic screen for cell phenotypes, such as cell viability, can thus be effective in characterizing functionally related genes on a genome-wide scale.

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PMID: 14764878 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]