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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Enhanced Northern Blot Detection of Small RNA Species in Drosophila Melanogaster
Published on: August 21, 2014
Behind the scenes of a small RNA gene-silencing pathway
Gregory Ku1, Michael T McManus
1Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94122, USA.
Abstract:
RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific gene-silencing phenomenon mediated by double-stranded RNA. RNAi is made possible through the activity of an evolutionarily conserved RNA-protein machinery that is utilized by microRNAs (miRNAs), endogenously produced 21- to 23-nucleotide noncoding RNAs. As RNA-based therapeutics come of age, understanding the miRNA pathway and the mechanism of posttranscriptional gene silencing is paramount. Studies have pointed to a critical role for miRNAs in human development and disease and revealed an unanticipated complexity in the mechanisms of regulation of gene expression. This review discusses advances in the biogenesis of miRNAs, their modes of action, and implications for RNA-based treatments.
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