We are trying to figure out whether the mRNA of our gene of interest has a function. We want to inhibit protein translation but still allow for transcription of the RNA and stability of the RNA once it is transcribed. We are thinking of using morpholinos but are unsure if this method will cause degradation or inhibit the hypothetical function of the RNA? Does anyone have any experience with morpholinos and knows how the mRNA behaves once a morpholino is attached?
Hi Andrew,
From what I understand about morpholinos, they do not cause degradation of their products, but since they interact with the mRNA, they have the potential to disrupt any function that RNA might have-- i.e., by disrupting secondary structure or interactions with proteins.
In general morpholinos do not degrade target RNAs by itself. That`s why you can`t see differences by RT-PCR. However it is not known whether morpholino-bound RNAs are recognized as `useless` by the cell and thereby are degraded naturally.
In theory, in the case when all morpholinos are bound to their target mRNAs, newly transcribed mRNA will not be affected and can be translated. I have seen this when I injected morpholinos into Xenopus embryos. Once the levels of the protein are down, they are coming back to approx. normal levels after 5-7 days. But there will be always some active morpholinos, because they are released from their targets after naturally degradation. So I think, that this might be a limitation using morphlinos for your particular question.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Molecular Biology
- Biomolecules
- Nucleic Acids
- RNA