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Article: Bacterial diet quiets worm genes. (Genetics).
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- October 19, 2002
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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It's a gene-loss, not weight-loss, diet. By feeding genetically engineered bacteria to worms, researchers have developed an easy way to deactivate specific worm genes and study their function.
Biologists frequently choose the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans for their studies, in part because they've already identified most, if not all, of the worm's genes (SN: 12/12/98, p. 372). To study a gene's roles, many investigators have turned to a method called RNA interference. By injecting a worm with a strand of RNA corresponding to the gene's DNA sequence, scientists can turn off that particular gene and observe what happens to the animal (SN: 1/15/00, p. 36).