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Related Concept Videos

Experimental RNAi02:15

Experimental RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns—non-coding regions of a gene—or intergenic regions—stretches of DNA present between genes. Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA ends...
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns—non-coding regions of a gene—or intergenic regions—stretches of DNA present between genes. Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA ends...
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs02:30

siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs

Small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, are short regulatory RNA molecules that can silence genes post-transcriptionally, as well as the transcriptional level in some cases. siRNAs are important for protecting cells against viral infections and silencing transposable genetic elements.
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the ATP-dependent...
RNA Interference01:23

RNA Interference

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which a small non-coding RNA molecule blocks the post-transcriptional expression of a gene by binding to its messenger RNA (mRNA) and preventing the protein from being translated.
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits
09:17

Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits

Published on: March 14, 2018

Engineering elements for gene silencing: the artificial microRNAs technology.

Pablo Andrés Manavella1, Ignacio Rubio-Somoza

  • 1Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany. pablo.manavella@tuebingen.mpg.de

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|March 25, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) offer precise gene silencing by generating a single small RNA molecule, overcoming off-target effects common in RNAi technology for accurate gene characterization.

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Combining Optogenetics with Artificial microRNAs to Characterize the Effects of Gene Knockdown on Presynaptic Function within Intact Neuronal Circuits
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Published on: June 12, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Biotechnology

Background:

  • Small RNA (sRNA)-mediated gene silencing is crucial for gene characterization.
  • RNA interference (RNAi) technology, using inverted repeats, can cause off-target effects due to multiple small RNA species.
  • Recent advances in microRNA (miRNA) regulation offer solutions to RNAi limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) as a highly specific gene silencing tool.
  • To overcome the off-target limitations associated with traditional RNAi methods.
  • To enable precise downregulation of target messenger RNAs (mRNAs).

Main Methods:

  • Engineering artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) as 21-nucleotide small RNAs.
  • Designing amiRNAs computationally to target specific single or multiple gene transcripts.
  • Utilizing the post-biogenesis regulation of miRNA activity for enhanced specificity.

Main Results:

  • Artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) generate a single miRNA per precursor, significantly increasing specificity.
  • This technology allows for highly specific messenger RNA (mRNA) downregulation.
  • The computational design enables targeting of custom-selected transcripts with high precision.

Conclusions:

  • Artificial microRNAs (amiRNAs) provide a more specific and efficient alternative to RNAi for gene silencing.
  • This approach enhances the accuracy of molecular gene characterization.
  • amiRNAs represent a significant advancement in targeted gene regulation technology.