RNA interference

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/rna-interference

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the mechanisms of action?Sequence-specific mRNA cleavage, translational repression, and transcriptional silencing
2. What is the related topics?Post-transcriptional gene regulation, epigenetics, RNA biology, functional genomics, RNA therapeutics, antiviral defense
3. How does RNA interference start?It starts when double‑stranded RNA is cut by the enzyme Dicer into short pieces called siRNAs or miRNAs. These short RNAs are about 21-23 nucleotides long.
4. What happens after the small RNA is made?The small RNA joins a protein team called RISC. The guide strand then finds matching mRNA and stops it from making protein, either by cutting it or blocking its use.

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA): RNA molecules composed of two complementary strands, serving as a trigger for RNA interference.
Dicer: An enzyme that cleaves long dsRNA into short siRNA or miRNA duplexes.
Argonaute proteins: Key components of RISC that bind small RNAs and mediate target recognition and cleavage or repression.