RNA Electrophoretic Mobility Shift Assay Using a Fluorescent DNA Sequencer

The RNA electrophoretic mobility shift assay is a simple and rapid method for visualizing the existence of specific RNA-protein interaction. We have developed a useful method for the detection of mRNA-binding proteins using fluorescence-labeled synthetic RNA. In this method, RNA was prepared by in vitro transcription using Texas Red-labeled nucleotides. This method has higher resolution than the conventional method using slab gels, is safer, and provides results rapidly because of the use of fluorescence detection.