Gene Interactions
When the expression of a single trait is influenced by two or more different non-allelic genes, it is termed as genetic interaction. According to Mendel's law of inheritance, each gene functions in its own way and does not depend on the function of another gene, i.e., a single gene controls each of seven characteristics considered, but the complex contribution of many different genes determine many traits of an organism.
Gene Expression
Gene expression is a process by which the instructions present in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are converted into useful molecules such as proteins, and functional messenger ribonucleic (mRNA) molecules in the case of non-protein-coding genes.
How do siRNAs and miRNAs target specific mRNAs for degradation or for the repression of translation?
MicroRNAs or miRNAs are a group of small (about 22 nucleotides) noncoding RNAs that participate in the gene expression regulation at the post-translational level by inhibiting the translation of their target mRNAs or by degrading them. miRNAs are found in animals, plants, and some viruses that functions in the process post-translational regulation of the gene expression and the RNA silencing. They function through base-pairing with the complementary sequences present in the mRNA molecules.
Small interfering RNAs or siRNAs are short double stranded RNAs with the hydroxylated 3' ends and phosphorylated 5' ends with 2 overhanging nucleotides. They are usually 20 to 27 base pairs long in length like miRNAs. They are also non-coding RNA molecules that operate in the RNA interference pathway. The production of siRNAs is catalyzed by the Dicer enzyme from the small hairpin RNAs and double stranded RNAs.
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