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The study reveals how a member of an important protein family, ARGONAUTE 4 (AGO4), binds, cuts and retains snippets of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules that guide the chemical inactivation of genes with matching sequences.

Gene silencing mediated by RNA molecules is known as RNA interference, or RNAi, and occurs in diverse organisms that include animals, insects, plants, and fungi. 

There are several different types of RNAi, but all share common features.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/978855