Zodiac with dr. René Ketting of Hubrecht Laboratory : Regulation of gene expression by RNAi and miRNAs in animal systems

MicroRNA’s have recently emerged as key posttranscriptional regulators of eukaryotic gene expression. Double-stranded RNA is a very potent inducer of gene silencing. These molecules are converted into small RNA fragments, named siRNAs or miRNAs, which in turm program various protein complexes to inhibit gene expression in a sequence-specific manner. Hundreds of miRNAs genes have already been identified in animals. René Ketting, senorir scientist at Hubrecht Laboratory, will focus his lecture on mechanistic aspects and on natural functions of these recently discovered silencing processes.