How Does RNA Cleavage Contribute to RNA Interference (RNAi)?
RNA cleavage is a critical step in the RNA interference pathway, a cellular mechanism that regulates gene expression and defends against viral infections. During RNAi, double-stranded RNA is cleaved by the enzyme Dicer into small RNA fragments. These fragments are then incorporated into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), where they guide the complex to complementary mRNA targets for cleavage and degradation, effectively silencing specific genes.
