High-throughput rna interaction assay

A kit for detecting an interaction between a ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecule and a second molecule comprising:

• one or more isolated nucleic acid constructs, each nucleic acid construct comprising:
• a promoter sequence recognized by an RNA polymerase;
• a nucleotide sequence encoding an RNA molecule;
• and
• an RNA polymerase blocking site located 3′ of the nucleotide sequence encoding the RNA molecule.

A method for screening a library of candidate compounds to identify a compound that binds to a target RNA molecule, said method comprising:

• providing a library of candidate compounds;
• providing an isolated RNA transcript of the target RNA molecule tethered to a nucleic acid construct;
• contacting the library of candidate compounds with the isolated RNA transcript tethered to the nucleic acid construct under conditions effective for one or more candidate compounds to bind to the RNA transcript;
• detecting a binding interaction between one or more of the candidate compounds and the isolated RNA transcript tethered to the nucleic acid construct;
• and
• identifying the one or more candidate compounds that bind to the target RNA molecule based on said detecting.