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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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Potato Virus X-Based microRNA Silencing (VbMS) In Potato.

Potato Virus X-Based microRNA Silencing (VbMS) In Potato.

Published on: May 11, 2020

Mimicry technology: suppressing small RNA activity in plants.

Ignacio Rubio-Somoza¹, Pablo Andrés Manavella

¹Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany. ignacio.rubio@tuebingen.mpg.de

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)

|March 25, 2011

Summary

Small RNA suppression hinders plant molecular studies. MIMIC technology engineers non-coding RNA to sequester microRNA (miRNA) activity, enabling target release and specific miRNA suppression.

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Screening and Identification of RNA Silencing Suppressors from Secreted Effectors of Plant Pathogens

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RNA Blot Analysis for the Detection and Quantification of Plant MicroRNAs

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Published on: July 11, 2020

Area of Science:

Plant molecular biology
RNA interference
Gene regulation

Background:

Small RNA molecules, particularly microRNAs (miRNAs), play crucial roles in plant gene regulation.
Studying miRNA functions is challenging due to difficulties in suppressing their activity.
Recent advances have uncovered post-biogenesis regulatory mechanisms for miRNA activity.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a novel technology for overcoming small RNA suppression in plants.
To enable comprehensive molecular characterization of miRNA roles.
To create a tool for specific and inducible miRNA activity suppression.

Main Methods:

Engineering the IPS1 non-coding RNA to include sequences complementary to specific miRNA families.
Utilizing the engineered RNA to sequester Argonaute/RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) complexes.
Developing MIMIC (miRNA-mimicking) technology for miRNA activity modulation.

Main Results:

The engineered IPS1 RNA effectively sequesters RISC complexes, inhibiting miRNA activity.
MIMIC technology allows for the release of all potential targets of a targeted miRNA family.
This approach enables both constitutive and tissue-specific/inducible suppression of miRNA activity.

Conclusions:

MIMIC technology provides a powerful tool to overcome small RNA suppression in plants.
This method facilitates the detailed molecular characterization of miRNA functions and their targets.
The technology offers versatile applications for studying gene regulation in plants.