High School

Which of the following is functionally homologous to the Cas9 component of the CRISPR system?

A. Dicer
B. Drosha
C. miRNA
D. Argonaute

Answer :

Argonaute is functionally homologous to the Cas9 component of the CRISPR system.

Among the options provided, the component that is functionally homologous to Cas9 in the CRISPR system is Argonaute. Cas9 is a key component of the CRISPR system, responsible for cleaving DNA at specific target sites. Similarly, Argonaute plays a crucial role in RNA interference (RNAi) pathways, which are involved in gene regulation.

Argonaute proteins interact with small RNA molecules, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), to form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). The RISC complex guides Argonaute to its target mRNA, resulting in mRNA degradation or translational repression. This mechanism bears functional similarities to Cas9, as both proteins are involved in sequence-specific RNA-guided nucleic acid cleavage or silencing, albeit in different contexts (DNA cleavage in CRISPR and mRNA silencing in RNAi). Therefore, Argonaute is functionally homologous to Cas9 in the CRISPR system.

Learn more about mRNA here:

https://brainly.com/question/29314591

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