Question

One of the earliest steps in the RNAi pathway involves the association of siRNA or miRNA molecules with an enzyme complex composed mainly of reverse transcriptase.

A. True
B. False

Answer 1

False. One of the earliest steps in the RNAi pathway involves the cleavage of dsRNA into short fragments by DICER and loading of the guide strand onto RISC.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that one of the earliest steps in the RNAi pathway involves the association of siRNA or miRNA molecules with an enzyme complex composed mainly of reverse transcriptase is false.

In the RNAi pathway, the first step involves the cleavage of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) into short fragments by an enzyme called DICER.

One of the fragments, known as the guide strand, is then loaded onto the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which helps carry out the gene silencing process.

Reverse transcriptase is not involved in this early step of the RNAi pathway.