Figure 3. RNAi of SmHMGR is selective for the target.

Newly transformed somules were incubated with HMGR- or mCherry-dsRNA for seven days as described in the text. RNAi was measured by qRT-PCR and data expressed relative to data for mCherry dsRNA controls. To assess for potential off-targeting by HMGR-dsRNA, the expression of a S. mansoni cysteine protease inhibitor, cystatin (Cys: AY334553.1), and the gut-associated cysteine protease, cathepsin B1.1 (AJ506157), was also measured. Bars represent means ± S.D. across two independent experiments each in duplicate. Using Student's t-test, gene suppression in the HMGR-dsRNA treated sample is significantly different from the mCherry controls (p<0.01).