A researcher introduces double-stranded RNA into a culture of mammalian cells. The double-stranded RNA corresponds to a region of a protein-coding gene of interest. How may the introduced RNA affect gene expression in these cells?

Double stranded RNA may affect gene expression negatively

Explanation:

Double stranded RNA are molecules that can affect negatively the gene expression by the fact that this kind of molecule can be complementary to others RNA molecules, or also to DNA regions on the genome. Therefore, introducing such molecules in mammalian cells can inactivate the transcription of a specific gene by the fact that those molecules could block regions of the genome that code for a gene or by connecting to some RNA molecules by similarity. Such mechanisms will reduce the production (or expression) of a given protein in these cells.