RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Combining Auxin-Induced Degradation and RNAi Screening Identifies Novel Genes Involved in Lipid Bilayer Stress Sensing in Caenorhabditis elegans JF G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics FD Genetics Society of America SP 3921 OP 3928 DO 10.1534/g3.120.401635 VO 10 IS 11 A1 Venz, Richard A1 Korosteleva, Anastasiia A1 Jongsma, Elisabeth A1 Ewald, Collin Y. YR 2020 UL http://www.g3journal.org/content/10/11/3921.abstract AB Alteration of the lipid composition of biological membranes interferes with their function and can cause tissue damage by triggering apoptosis. Upon lipid bilayer stress, the endoplasmic reticulum mounts a stress response similar to the unfolded protein response. However, only a few genes are known to regulate lipid bilayer stress. We performed a suppressor screen that combined the auxin-inducible degradation (AID) system with conventional RNAi in C. elegans to identify members of the lipid bilayer stress response. AID-mediated degradation of the mediator MDT-15, a protein required for the upregulation of fatty acid desaturases, induced the activation of lipid bilayer stress-sensitive reporters. We screened through most C. elegans kinases and transcription factors by feeding RNAi. We discovered nine genes that suppressed the lipid bilayer stress response in C. elegans. These suppressor genes included drl-1/MAP3K3, gsk-3/GSK3, let-607/CREB3, ire-1/IRE1, and skn-1/NRF1,2,3. Our candidate suppressor genes suggest a network of transcription factors and the integration of multiple tissues for a centralized lipotoxicity response in the intestine. Thus, we demonstrated proof-of-concept for combining AID and RNAi as a new screening strategy and identified eight conserved genes that had not previously been implicated in the lipid bilayer stress response.