Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica
SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE TO PREMIUM
  • Home
  • Biographies
  • Animals & Nature
  • History & Society
  • Science & Tech
  • Geography & Travel
  • Arts & Culture
  • ProCon
  • Money
  • Games & Quizzes
  • Videos
  • Today in History
  • Dictionary
  • New Articles
Biographies
  • Browse Biographies
Animals & Nature
  • Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
  • Environment
  • Fossils & Geologic Time
  • Insects & Other Invertebrates
  • Mammals
  • Plants
History & Society
  • History
  • Philosophy & Religion
  • Politics, Law & Government
  • Society & Social Issues
Science & Tech
  • Health & Medicine
  • Science
  • Technology
Geography & Travel
  • Geography & Travel
Arts & Culture
  • Entertainment & Pop Culture
  • Literature
  • Sports & Recreation
  • Visual Arts
  • Image Galleries
  • Podcasts
  • Summaries
  • Top Questions
  • Lists and Stories
  • Britannica Kids
Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
short interfering RNA
References
Images
Diagram illustrating RNA interference, showing how both nuclear-encoded miRNA and synthetic double-stranded RNA are processed by enzymes like Dicer and RISC to cleave target mRNA, resulting in gene silencing.
Britannica AI Icon

short interfering RNA

biochemistry
Also known as: siRNA
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Learn about this topic in these articles:

  • RNA interference
    RNA interference
    / RNAi in research and medicine

    These pieces are called short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and are about 20 to 25 nucleotides in length. Similar to miRNA, siRNA binds to RISC and cleaves targeted sequences of mRNA.

    Read More

    These pieces are called short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and are about 20 to 25 nucleotides in length. Similar to miRNA, siRNA binds to RISC and cleaves targeted sequences of mRNA.

    Read More