Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2010 Aug;2(8):a003640. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a003640. Epub 2010 Jun 9.
RNA interference (RNAi) provides a powerful reverse genetics approach to analyze gene functions both in tissue culture and in vivo. Because of its widespread applicability and effectiveness it has become an essential part of the tool box kits of model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, and the mouse. In addition, the use of RNAi in animals in which genetic tools are either poorly developed or nonexistent enables a myriad of fundamental questions to be asked. Here, we review the methods and applications of in vivo RNAi to characterize gene functions in model organisms and discuss their impact to the study of developmental as well as evolutionary questions. Further, we discuss the applications of RNAi technologies to crop improvement, pest control and RNAi therapeutics, thus providing an appreciation of the potential for phenomenal applications of RNAi to agriculture and medicine.
RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 为分析组织培养和体内的基因功能提供了一种强大的反向遗传学方法。由于其广泛的适用性和有效性，它已成为模式生物（如秀丽隐杆线虫、果蝇和小鼠）工具包试剂盒的重要组成部分。此外，在遗传工具要么发展不良要么不存在的动物中使用 RNAi 使得可以提出无数的基本问题。在这里，我们回顾了体内 RNAi 用于描述模型生物中基因功能的方法和应用，并讨论了它们对发育和进化问题研究的影响。此外，我们还讨论了 RNAi 技术在作物改良、害虫防治和 RNAi 治疗中的应用，从而使人们对 RNAi 在农业和医学方面的潜在显著应用有了一定的了解。
