RNAi can silence a single gene without touching the rest of the genome. That precision is exactly why it’s being tested against cancer.
🏛️ Must Know
Why RNAi Actually Gained Popularity
- Gene Silencing Therapies RNAi genuinely is used in developing gene-silencing therapies, switching off specific disease-linked genes.
- Cancer Treatment Research RNAi genuinely can be used in developing therapies for treating cancer, by silencing genes that drive tumour growth.
- Virus-Resistant Crops RNAi genuinely can be used to produce crop plants resistant to viral pathogens.
- Not Hormone Replacement RNAi is not used to develop hormone replacement therapies, since it silences genes rather than supplying missing hormones.
- Correct Answer Statements 1, 2, and 4 are correct, so the answer is “1, 2 and 4.”
Good to Know
📘 Good to Know
How RNA Interference Actually Works
- Double-Stranded RNA Triggers It RNAi begins when double-stranded RNA enters a cell, triggering machinery that chops it into small interfering RNA fragments.
- Targets Matching Genes Those small RNA fragments then guide a protein complex to destroy any matching messenger RNA, silencing that specific gene.
- Discovered in a Roundworm RNAi was first characterised in the roundworm C. elegans, work that won Andrew Fire and Craig Mello the 2006 Nobel Prize.
📝 Previous Year Questions
UPSC CSP 2019 — Why RNAi Actually Gained Popularity
- UPSC 2019 RNAi’s popularity comes from gene-silencing therapies, cancer treatment research, and virus-resistant crops, not hormone replacement therapy. See UPSC CSP 2019 GS Paper I, Q96. View this question.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
🌟 Great to Know
Why RNAi Is Precise Enough for Medicine
- Gene-Specific Silencing RNAi can target one specific gene at a time, leaving the rest of the genome untouched.
- Approved RNAi Drugs Exist Several RNAi-based drugs have already reached approval, treating conditions like hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis.
- Connects to Other PYQ Facts This same gene-silencing precision also underlies UPSC questions on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.
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