Chapter 17, Problem 2EQ

Summary Introduction

To review:

The introduction of pre-miRNA (precursor micro Ribonucleic acid) or pre-siRNA (precursor small interfering ribonucleic acid) that cause the degradation of mex-3 RNA in Caenorhabditiselegans

Introduction:

Pre-miRNAs or pre-siRNAs are extensively used up in the process of silencing of mRNAs (messenger RNA). The pre-miRNAs undergo processing by DROSHA and DGCR8 proteins and form hairpin loop structure and the ends are cleaved by exoportin. These are directly released from the nucleus. The siRNAs and miRNAs are recognized by DICER and cleaved into dsRNA (double-stranded ribonucleic acid) and associate with other proteins to form RISC (RNA induced silencing complex) that further silences the mRNAs due to the complementary binding.