Initially observed in plants and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and subsequently in all major eukaryotic species, RNA interference (RNAi) has been recognized as a post-translational mechanism for the silencing of specific genes. RNAi is instigated by double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules, and it exploits the base sequences of dsRNA, or rather the base sequences of the molecules derived from dsRNA, to silence genes in a sequence-specific manner.
RNAi evolved as a way to protect host genomes from parasitic nucleotide sequences, such as those arising from viral infections. But RNAi is not just a natural mechanism. It is also a contrivance, a research tool or, potentially, a therapeutic modality. The RNAi pathway provides a new framework to artificially introduce dsRNA into organisms to silence specific genes based on sequence complementarity.
Source: genengnews
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