NEET · BiologyHard

In the process of RNA interference (RNAi) used for silencing genes in nematodes, what is the role of the enzyme Dicer?

  1. A.It unwinds the double-stranded RNA into single-stranded RNA
  2. B.It cleaves long double-stranded RNA into short interfering RNA (siRNA) fragments
  3. C.It facilitates the binding of siRNA to the target mRNA
  4. D.It degrades the target mRNA after the siRNA has hybridized to it
Show correct answer & step-by-step solution

Correct answer: BIt cleaves long double-stranded RNA into short interfering RNA (siRNA) fragments

Solution

  1. RNA interference is a post-transcriptional gene silencing mechanism.
  2. The enzyme Dicer recognizes long double-stranded RNA molecules.
  3. Dicer cleaves these molecules into smaller fragments known as short interfering RNAs (siRNAs).
  4. These siRNAs are then incorporated into the RISC complex to target complementary mRNA.
  5. Hence the answer is (B).

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