RNA molecules interact with proteins to drive many cellular activities, including post-transcriptional processing of RNA, regulation of translation, and transport of RNA to name but a few. These ribonucleoprotein complexes are isolated by coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP), where a protein-specific antibody is used to purify the protein of choice and its associated complex members. Analysis of RNA-Protein Complexes by RNA Coimmunoprecipitation and RT-PCR Analysis from Caenorhabditis elegans gives step-by-step instructions for RNA co-IP from C. elegans whole-worm extracts. The protocol, from Christian Eckmann and colleagues at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, starts with the large-scale growth of worms and describes the preparation of whole-worm extracts, RNA co-IP, isolation of the purified RNA, and identification of specific genes through RT-PCR. As one of our featured articles for October, the protocol is freely available to subscribers and non-subscribers alike. Eckmann and colleagues have also contributed an accompanying article describing Analysis of In Vivo Protein Complexes by Coimmunoprecipitation from Caenorhabditis elegans.
October 22, 2009
Coimmunoprecipitation in C. elegans
Posted by David Crotty under Antibodies, Cell Biology, General, Laboratory Organisms, Molecular Biology, Proteins and ProteomicsLeave a Comment