Gene knockdown
Gene knockdown is an experimental technique by which the expression of one or more of an organism's genes is reduced. The reduction can occur either through genetic modification or by treatment with a reagent such as a short DNA or RNA oligonucleotide that has a sequence complementary to either gene or an mRNA transcript. Versus transient knockdown If a DNA of an organism is genetically modified, the resulting organism is called a "knockdown organism." If the change in gene expression is caused by an oligonucleotide binding to an mRNA or temporarily binding to a gene, this leads to a temporary change in gene expression that does not modify the chromosomal DNA, and the result is referred to as a "transient knockdown". In a transient knockdown, the binding of this oligonucleotide to the active gene or its transcripts causes decreased expression through a variety of processes. Binding can occur either through the blocking of transcription (in the case of gene-binding), the degradation of the mRNA transcript (e.g. by small interfering RNA (siRNA)) or RNase-H dependent antisense, or through the blocking of either mRNA translation, pre-mRNA splicing sites, or nuclease cleavage sites used for maturation of other functional RNAs, including miRNA (e.g.