Explanation:

RNA interference (RNAi) is a biological process in which RNA molecules inhibit gene expression or translation.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that RNAi can provide a more specific approach to inhibit tumor growth by targeting cancer-related genes (i.e., oncogene).

While it was known that plants expressing virus-specific proteins showed enhanced tolerance or resistance to viral infection, it was not expected that plants carrying only short, non-coding regions of viral RNA sequences would show similar levels of protection

The reverse experiment, in which short sequences of plant genes were introduced into viruses, showed that the targeted gene was suppressed in an infected plant. This phenomenon was labeled “virus-induced gene silencing” (VIGS), and the set of such phenomena were collectively called post transcriptional gene silencing.