Labeling and characterization of small RNAs associated with the RNA interference effector complex RITS.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a gene silencing mechanism that acts at both the posttranscriptional and transcriptional levels. We have recently identified an RNA-containing complex, named RNA-induced transcriptional silencing (RITS), that directly links RNAi to transcriptional gene silencing in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Here we review the affinity purification methods we use to isolate RITS and describe how to purify, detect, and analyze RNAs associated with this complex.