Gene Silencing Online

Gene Silencing is the inhibition of gene expression - that is, transcriptional repression. Gene silencing is the process whereby certain genes in the genome are prevented from being expressed by chemical modifications and other means. Genes are regulated at either the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level. Transcriptional gene silencing is the result of histone modifications, creating an environment of heterochromatin around a gene that makes it inaccessible to transcriptional machinery like RNA polymerase, transcription factors, etc.

Types of Gene Silencing: Transcriptional Gene Silencing, Post-transcriptional Gene Silencing, Meiotic gene silencing, Cellular components of gene silencing. Gene silencing molecules also have potential prophylactic and therapeutic applications based upon ongoing clinical trials using RNAi and traditional antisense approaches. The last five years have seen a revolutionary approach known as RNA interference, or siRNA, to intentionally and effectively silence genes to treat diseases.