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Ask the Expert is a forum for scientists at all stages of their careers to ask questions of leading researchers in the field of chemical biology about the techniques their labs use and the types of research they are now doing. Updates will be posted weekly to this website, so check back frequently for new answers.
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RNAi
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
University of Massachusetts Medical School
RNA interference (RNAi) is the surprising ability of double-stranded RNA — but not antisense RNA — to target a corresponding mRNA for destruction. Philip Zamore’s laboratory studies the mechanisms that underlie RNA silencing pathways in plants and animals. The laboratory combines biochemistry with genetics and cell biology to understand the biological functions and the molecular basis of these pathways. To learn more about Phillip Zamore and his research, please see his Profile in Volume 1, Issue 3.
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Speculate for a minute: where do you think the RNAi field will be in 5 years? What do you think are the most interesting questions to ask? --Graduate student
In five years the number of small RNA classes will likely double or triple from the three (siRNAs, miRNAs, rasiRNAs/piRNAs) we now know. We will understand much more about how these small RNAs are made, sorted, and function, we will begin to understand their evolutionary origins, but we will still s....more
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Recently ACS Chemical Biology published a point of view on off-target RNAi effects. This point of view commented on three papers recently published in RNA. What’s your take on off-target effects and the impact these papers will have?
RNAi is a 'reverse genetics' tool. When we speak of reverse genetics, we mean that, starting with only the sequence of a gene, loss-of-function phenotypes can be engineered using RNAi. Reverse genetics does NOT mean that the laws of genetics have been reversed. The central principle of genetics rema....more
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The new hot topic in RNAi seems to be the germ line RNAs that were found in mammals. They are not processed out of longer hairpins usually, so how do foresee that pathway's first steps? Is a longer single stranded transcript that gets cleaved at particular spots to yield RNAs of such uniform lengths?
The honest answer is that we don't know how mammalian Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) or fly repeat-associated small interfering RNAs (rasiRNAs) are made. These two classes of small RNAs appear, at least superficially, to be related: they show a striking strand bias (e.g., rasiRNAs appear to....more
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