RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) is the phenomenon first described in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans in which introduction of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) results in potent and specific inactivation of the corresponding gene through the degradation of endogenous mRNA [1,2]. This technique rapidly produces gene-specific loss-of-function or hypomorphic phenotypes, and potent interference is also observed in the progeny of the affected animal. Thus, because RNAi results in a robust, specific and durable interference effect, and also because RNAi is the simplest and most efficient method for inactivating genes in C. elegans, it has been rapidly embraced as a reverse-genetics tool for determining the functions of specific genes.
