Fig. 1.

Tao-1 RNAi phenotype in Drosophila S2R⁺ cells. Drosophila S2R⁺ cells were fixed and stained for microtubules using antibodies against α-tubulin 5 days after treatment with Tao-1 or control (lacZ) dsRNAs. (A) Following Tao-1 silencing, microtubules lose their normal organisation and form very long, microtubule-rich protrusions. Scale bar: 10 μm. (B) This phenotype was quantified in 100 randomly picked cells in triplicate. Spiky microtubule-rich cells were seen in an average of 90% of Tao-1 RNAi cells and in 3% of control lacZ RNAi cells. (C) Q-RT-PCR confirmed the knockdown of Tao-1 mRNA in S2R⁺ cells after a 5-day RNAi treatment. The ribosomal housekeeping gene Rp49 was used as an internal control. Values represent the means ± s.d. of triplicate Q-PCR values from duplicate samples.