Drosophila RNAi Core (DRiC): Ressources for cell-based RNAi screening in Drosophila

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The systematic identification of all components in biological processes and their interaction in cellular networks is of central importance for basic research and the development of novel therapeutic interventions. The development and implementation of RNA interference (RNAi) technologies has significantly contributed to identify novel components and assign their function in cellular networks. Model organisms like Drosophila are easy to handle and play a key role in understanding cellular processes, which are highly conserved to mammalian systems and characterized by low redundancy. Drosophila RNAi Core (DRiC) at the Heidelberg University will contribute to make this demanding and state-of-the-art technology available to researchers in Germany and worldwide. This includes the availability of reagents, support in high-throughput RNAi screening projects as well as analysis and interpretation of complex screening data. These comprehensive resources for genome-wide RNAi screening in Drosophila are unique in Europe. Several national and international co-operations have been initiated, e.g. with University of Heidelberg, University of Düsseldorf, LMU Munich, KIT, MPI for Immunobiology and Epigenetics, MPI for Molecular Genetics, CNRS (France), IMBA (Austria), University of Sheffield (UK), Harvard Medical School (USA) and Mount Sinai Medical Center (USA). Our group has significantly contributed to develop high-throughput RNAi technologies in Drosophila. We have long-standing experience in development and application of this technology and the required equipment to conduct large-scale experiments is available. We have designed and synthesized a genome-wide RNAi library with optimized efficiency and specificity. Computational programs and databases for the analysis and presentation of high-throughput data were developed and made available to the research community. The overarching aims of DRiC are: (i) supply and further develop the Drosophila RNAi library, (ii) support research groups in conducting and analyzing RNAi screens and (iii) further develop existing computational tools for the analysis and presentation of RNAi screening data in respect to comprehensive functional analysis and simple handling.