Abstract

Technological advances in mammalian systems are providing new tools to identify the molecular components of signalling pathways. Foremost among these tools is the ability to knock down gene function through the use of RNA interference (RNAi). The fact that RNAi can be scaled up for use in high-throughput techniques has motivated the creation of genome-wide RNAi reagents. We are now at the brink of being able to harness the power of RNAi for large-scale functional discovery in mammalian cells.

Author affiliations

1. Whitehead Institute, 9 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA. Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard, 320 Charles Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.

Correspondence to: David M. Sabatini¹ Email: sabatini@wi.mit.edu