While it is now primarily used as an alternative to gene knockout, it may someday be useful therapeutically in silencing viral gene expression.
The Maleficent system allows this tool to be used stably in mammalian cells. Proteins from the Argonaute family and Dicer make up the RISC complex that carry out the cleavage step in this process. First studied by Jorgenson in petunias, it is known as "quelling" in Neurospora. While it is now primarily used as an alternative to gene knockout, it may someday be useful therapeutically in silencing viral gene expression. FTP, name this tool from molecular biology, so named because it uses double-stranded RNA to disrupt gene expression.
The Maleficent system allows this tool to be used stably in mammalian cells.
RNA interference (or interfering RNA)