SiRNA Structure

Information about the structure of siRNA.

SiRNA Structure

siRNAs have a well defined structure: a short (usually 21-nt) double-strand of RNA (dsRNA) with 2-nt 3' overhangs on either end:


Each strand has a 5' phosphate group and a 3' hydroxyl (-OH) group. This structure is the result of processing by dicer, an enzyme that converts either long dsRNAs or small hairpin RNAs into siRNAs.[3] SiRNAs can also be exogenously (artificially) introduced into cells by various transfection methods to bring about the specific knockdown of a gene of interest. Essentially any gene of which the sequence is known can thus be targeted based on sequence complementarity with an appropriately tailored siRNA. This has made siRNAs an important tool for gene function and drug target validation studies in the post-genomic era.

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