enzyme that processes RNA into smaller fragments for gene regulation
Dicer is an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the process of RNA interference, a biological mechanism that regulates gene expression. It cuts long double-stranded RNA molecules into shorter fragments called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) or microRNAs (miRNAs), which can then guide the degradation or suppression of specific messenger RNA (mRNA) targets, thereby controlling the production of proteins.