Antisense RNA
Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) has become a powerful tool for functional genomics. In the January 25 Science, Tijsterman et al. report a gene-silencing method induced by short (25 nucleotide) antisense RNA molecules (Science 2002, 295:694-697).They found that injecting single-stranded, antisense RNA (asRNA) oligomers into the gonadal syncytium of Caenorhabditis elegans resulted in silencing of the maternal pos-1 gene and of germline-expressed genes. Tijsterman et al. found that asRNA
Jan 24, 2002
Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) has become a powerful tool for functional genomics. In the January 25
They found that injecting single-stranded, antisense RNA (asRNA) oligomers into the gonadal syncytium of
The authors proposed that asRNA-induced gene-silencing may result from the priming of RNA synthesis on mRNA templates, thereby creating dsRNA for subsequent degradation.