Suppressors, screens, and genes: an educational primer for use with "A network of genes antagonistic to the LIN-35 retinoblastoma protein of Caenorhabditis elegans".

An article by Polley and Fay in this issue of GENETICS provides an excellent opportunity to introduce or reinforce concepts of reverse genetics and RNA interference, suppressor screens, synthetic phenotypes, and phenocopy. Necessary background, explanations of these concepts, and a sample approach to classroom use of the original article, including discussion questions, are provided.