Temperature-sensitive (ts) mutants are powerful tools with which to investigate gene function, but it has been difficult to generate ts mutants in mammalian cells. Recently, RNA interference (RNAi) has been widely used for loss of function analyses. In addition, in various organisms, hypothermic-temperature-sensitive RNAi has been reported. By using this characteristic of RNAi, we attempted to generate ts mutants in mammalian cells and were able to successfully generate ts mutants of cell cycle regulator cdc2 and ubiquitin-activating enzyme El. We compared ts mutants previously isolated by mutagenesis with those generated by RNAi knockdown, and observed similar phenotypes. This method enabled us to generate ts mutants (KDts, knockdown temperature-sensitive mutants) of the genes of interest and will be utilized to facilitate understanding of the biological processes regulated by an essential gene in mammalian cells. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.