Gene knockdown

Gene knockdown is a technique that makes it possible to reduce the expression of one or several genes by changing the corresponding nucleotide sequence, or by using a short oligonucleotide complementary to the corresponding mRNA molecule. The gene knockdown method is a reverse genetics method. In the case when the gene sequence changes, the organism is called a knockout for this gene. In the case of using short oligonucleotides complementary to the corresponding mRNA or binding to the nucleotide sequence in DNA , knockdown of the gene leads to a temporary change in the parameters of gene expression, without making changes in the structure of chromosomes and the DNA sequence of the gene.

In the case of a short-term knockdown, the binding of an oligonucleotide to a gene or transcripts, lowers expression due to blocking transcription , translation or degradation of mRNA (for example, via RNA interference ), pre-mRNA splicing can also be disrupted. ^{[1] [2]} Researchers study the effect of turning off a gene or reducing its expression on the phenotype of an organism and are compared to normal individuals. Short-term knockdowns of genes are often used in developmental biology, since oligonucleotides can easily be introduced into a zygote and will get into all daughter cells during embryonic development. ^[3]