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Advanced – For experienced high school and college classes; requires some technical skill.
Demonstrate to your students the power of silencing a single gene. RNA interference (RNAi) is a technique that allows you to silence the expression of a chosen gene by specifically degrading its mRNA. In this kit, students use this Nobel Prize-winning technique to silence 2 different genes in the nonparasitic roundworm C. elegans, a model organism used for studying many aspects of biology.

Product Details
Advanced—For experienced high school and college classes; requires some technical skill.
Students go hands-on as they experience the power of silencing a single gene and learn how that method can be used to determine a gene's function. This fascinating activity then cumulates with a bioinformatics exercise.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a technique that allows you to silence the expression of a chosen gene by degrading the gene's mRNA. C. elegans is a model organism often used when conducting and researching such a technique. In this lab, wild-type worms are fed lab strains of E. coli that express double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) corresponding to either of 2 target genes: BLIstered cuticle (bli-1) or DumPY (dpy-11). The ingestion of the dsRNA initiates the destruction of mRNA expressed from the target genes. Students then examine the phenotypes induced by silencing these genes. Silencing bli-1 leads to the formation of clear blisters in a worm's outer cuticle; silencing dpy-11 leads to a worm developing a short, fat body. In accompanying bioinformatics exercises, students explore the function of the protein encoded by the silenced gene and the relatedness of worm and human genes.

Note: Kit ships with the perishable materials included. Because of the time-sensitive preparation and limited shelf life of the kit's perishable materials, please order a minimum of 2 weeks prior to the desired ship date. Plan on using the materials within a week of receiving them. Kit ships only on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays via standard overnight delivery.

Product Features

• Designed for 8 groups of 2–4 students
• Includes teacher's manual with reproducible student guide

Digital Resources
Includes 1-year access to digital resources that support 3-dimensional instruction for NGSS. Digital resources may include a teacher’s manual and student guide, pre-lab activities and setup videos, phenomenon videos, simulations, and post-lab analysis and assessments.

Time Requirements
Up to 12 days. Teacher preparation: 15–30 minutes per lab day. Class lab activities: 30–60 minutes with multiple incubation periods.

Learning Objectives
Students will:

• Learn about the mechanism of RNA interference and its applications.
• Explore the relationship between genotype, phenotype, and RNAi-induced phenotype.
• Move between experimentation and computation.
• Use sterile technique.
• Grow cultures of bacteria.
• Use microscopy.
• Grow and observe C. elegans.
• Use RNAi to disrupt the function of genes.
• Explore data online using Wormbase.
• Identify related DNA sequences in databases using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST).