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First published online 9 April 2008
doi: 10.1242/dev.001115

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Controlling morpholino experiments: don't stop making antisense

¹ Institute of Neuroscience, 1254 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1254, USA.
² Wellcome Trust/CR-UK Gurdon Institute and Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QN, UK.

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: jim{at}gurdon.cam.ac.uk)

SUMMARY

One of the most significant problems facing developmental biologists who do not work on an organism with well-developed genetics - and even for some who do - is how to inhibit the action of a gene of interest during development so as to learn about its normal biological function. A widely adopted approach is to use antisense technologies, and especially morpholino antisense oligonucleotides. In this article, we review the use of such reagents and present examples of how they have provided insights into developmental mechanisms. We also discuss how the use of morpholinos can lead to misleading results, including off-target effects, and we suggest controls that will allow researchers to interpret morpholino experiments correctly.