Question

In 1998, future Nobel laureates Andrew Fire and Craig Mello, and colleagues, published an article in Nature entitled, “Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans.” Explain how RNAi is both “potent and specific.”

Accepted Answer

Understand that RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process where double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules inhibit gene expression by causing the degradation of specific messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. Recognize that RNAi is 'potent' because even small amounts of dsRNA can trigger a strong gene-silencing effect, leading to a significant reduction in the target mRNA and thus protein production. Understand that RNAi is 'specific' because the dsRNA sequence is complementary to the target mRNA sequence, allowing the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to precisely recognize and degrade only the matching mRNA without affecting other genes. Note that the specificity arises from base-pairing rules, where the guide strand of the small interfering RNA (siRNA) within RISC binds only to mRNAs with a complementary sequence, ensuring targeted gene silencing. Summarize that the combination of high efficiency (potency) and sequence-dependent targeting (specificity) makes RNAi a powerful tool for gene regulation and functional genomics studies.

In 1998, future Nobel laureates Andrew Fire and Craig Mello, and colleagues, published an article in Nature entitled, “Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans.” Explain how RNAi is both “potent and specific.”

Key Concepts

RNA Interference (RNAi) Mechanism

Potency of RNAi

Specificity of RNAi