AN INSIGHT TO RNA INTERFERENCE BASED GENE SILENCING

The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) is among the most significant biomedical breakthroughs in recent history. Multiple classes of small RNA, including small-interfering RNA (siRNA) and micro-RNA (miRNA) play important roles in many fundamental biological and disease processes. RNA interference, triggered by double-stranded RNA molecules, was initially recognized as a handy tool to reduce gene expression but now it is recognized as a mechanism for cellular protection and cleansing. It defends the genome against molecular parasites such as viruses and transposons, while removing abundant but aberrant nonfunctional messenger RNAs. Nonetheless, these new pools of knowledge have opened up avenues for unraveling the finer details of the small RNA mediated pathways. In this paper, we discuss the molecular aspects in biomedical research of RNA interference and its applications.