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RNA Interference

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Molecular Life Sciences

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Synonyms

Knockdown; miRNA-induced deadenylation; miRNA-induced silencing; RNAi

Definition

RNA interference is the binding of small RNAs, called microRNAs (miRNA) or small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), to mRNAs, which triggers either translation repression or mRNA degradation of the target mRNA. If the miRNA/siRNA binds the mRNA with perfect complementarity, it will cause cleavage of the mRNA, which will trigger its degradation. If the miRNA binds the mRNA imperfectly, it will trigger either translation repression or deadenylation-dependent decay. It is estimated that between half to two thirds of human mRNAs are targets of RNAi, suggesting that miRNAs are a major source of regulation of gene expression.

Discussion

Proteins are not the only trans-factors that affect the function of individual mRNAs; small RNAs (miRNAs and siRNAs) can bind mRNAs through Watson-Crick base pairing to decrease their translation or stability. miRNAs are 21–23 nucleotide RNAs that bind cis elements in mRNAs...

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References

  • Carthew RW, Sontheimer EJ (2009) Origins and mechanisms of miRNAs and siRNAs. Cell 136:642–655

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Richmond, 28 Westhampton Way, Richmond, VA, 23173, USA

    Angela Hilliker

Authors
  1. Angela Hilliker
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angela Hilliker .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Chemistry, University of Richmond, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Ellis Bell

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Hilliker, A. (2014). RNA Interference. In: Bell, E. (eds) Molecular Life Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_764-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6436-5_764-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6436-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

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