RNAi
Science & Engineering abbreviation · Genetics
| Stands for | RNA interference |
|---|---|
| Categories | Science & Engineering |
RNAi stands for RNA interference, a genetics abbreviation.
Natural gene-silencing mechanism in which double-stranded RNA triggers the destruction or blocking of matching messenger RNAs. RNAi defends cells against viruses and transposons, and researchers and drugmakers exploit it with siRNAs and shRNAs to switch off specific genes.
Example: An RNAi screen in fruit fly cells identified genes needed for cell division.
Usage notes
Andrew Fire and Craig Mello described RNAi in the worm C. elegans in 1998 and shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Plant biologists had earlier observed related "co-suppression," such as petunias that lost color when extra pigment genes were added. Several RNAi drugs are now approved for liver-related diseases.
Related abbreviations
More genetics abbreviations
- ORF – Open reading frame
- PAM – Protospacer adjacent motif
- PRS – Polygenic risk score
- QTL – Quantitative trait locus
- RFLP – Restriction fragment length polymorphism
- RNA-seq – RNA sequencing
- scRNA-seq – Single-cell RNA sequencing
- sgRNA – Single guide RNA
- shRNA – Short hairpin RNA
- siRNA – Small interfering RNA
- SNP – Single-nucleotide polymorphism
- snRNA – Small nuclear RNA