RNAi and CRISPR are two common gene silencing methods. RNAi (siRNA and shRNA) targets mRNA to knockdown gene expression. CRISPR is a new gene editing tool that can be used to knockout gene expression at the genomic DNA level. What are the pros and cons of each method?

Comparison between RNAi and CRISPR:

In summary, both RNAi and CRISPR can be used in-loss-of-function gene studies. Because RNAi is easy and fast for generating gene silencing data, most researchers first use RNAi to quickly knockdown the gene to verify the gene function. CRISPR is then used when knockout at the genomic level is needed. In addition, RNAi works better for essential genes as complete knockout will be lethal to cells.