Antisense RNA elements for downregulating expression

Abstract

Antisense RNA (asRNA) technology is an important tool for downregulating gene expression. When applying this strategy, the asRNA interference efficiency is determined by several elements including scaffold design, loop size, and relative abundance. Here, we take the Escherichia coli gene fabD encoding malonyl-CoA-[acyl-carrier-protein] transacylase as an example to describe the asRNA design with reliable and controllable interference efficiency. Real-time PCR and fluorescence assay methods are introduced to detect the interference efficiency at RNA level and protein level, respectively.