Suppression of Argonaute 2 Transcript Levels in Du182A Cells

Abstract

RNA interference (RNAi) uses double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules to degrade and suppress the transcript level of a complementary mRNA target1. The RNAi pathway is complex and includes many different proteins, like argonautes, in the core machinery. Argonautes are dsRNA binding proteins which help recognize and cleave target mRNA molecules. In our experiments, we attempted to suppress the transcript level of argonaute 2 (Ago2) in a Diabrotica undecimpunctata cell line (Du182A) using dsRNA, with the idea of disrupting the RNAi pathway using an RNAi of RNAi technique. Ago2 transcript levels were suppressed following treatment with dsRNA. Future experiments can now use this technique, with some modification to better understand the RNAi pathway.