https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.11187
Effect of small, often double-stranded RNA targeting a specific messenger RNA (mRNA), blocking its translation, and thereby silencing expression of the corresponding gene.
Notes:
- Cells produce two types of small RNA, microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA (siRNA), that are both involved in the regulation of gene expression.
- As an experimental technique, RNAi uses designed sequences to silence a gene of interest.
- Short hairpin RNAs (shRNA) are sequences, designed for improved effect in RNAi experiments, that have a base-paired stem representing the double-stranded portion and an intervening unpaired loop.