BISC219/F12: RNAi Lab 10

Lab 10: Series 3 Investigation of Gene Regulation Using RNAi--

Preparation of the Na+ gradient in the Chemotaxis Assay media
The day before lab your instructor will add the chemicals needed to prepare the chemotaxis assay plates.

1. 10 ul of 2.5M NaCl is added to the Na dot you drew on your plate. Once the NaCl is absorbed the Na+ ions will disperse in a gradient away from the dot. The Cl₂ is not in a gradient due to the addition of MgCl₂ to the media during initial preparation.
2. 10 ul of sterile water is added to the W dot you drew to serve as a negative control.
3. Additional control plates will have 10 ul of sterile water added to both dots on the plate.

Harvesting the C. elegans

1. Label 3 15 ml conical tubes with wild type - treated
2. Label 3 15 ml conical tubes with rrf-3- treated
3. Label 3 15 ml conical tubes with wild type - control
4. Label 3 15 ml conical tubes with rrf-3 - control
5. Wash the worms off of each RNAi feeding plate 3x with 5 ml sterile water - putting wash in a new labeled 15 ml tube each time - store the tubes with worms in them on ice.
6. Once all the worms are collected, put the caps on the tubes and invert a few times to mix the worms.
7. Let the worms settle to the bottom of the tubes - about 10 minutes
8. Remove all but 1 ml of the water with a disposable Pasteur pipette.
9. Add sterile water to 15 ml and cap the tube again. Invert and let the worms settle.
10. Remove all but 1 ml of the water with a disposable Pasteur pipette.
11. Transfer the remaining 1 ml of water + worms to a sterile 1.5 ml microfuge tube.
12. Spin the worms at 10,000 rpm for 1 minute to pellet.
13. Remove all but approximately 50 ul of worms and water at the bottom of the tube.
14. Using a razor blade, cut the end off of a micropipette tip (this will prevent the pellet of worms from being damaged).
15. Pipette the entire pellet of worms to the appropriate assay plate.