Question

how does microrna play a role in gene regulation? it inhibits protein production by breaking down the mrna or preventing its translation. it initiates the transcription of a gene. it binds to the promoter sequence to activate a gene.

Explanation:

microRNA (miRNA) is a small non - coding RNA molecule. It functions in gene regulation by base - pairing with complementary sequences in mRNA molecules. When it binds to mRNA, it can either cause the degradation of the mRNA (if the complementarity is perfect or nearly perfect) or prevent the translation of the mRNA into protein (if the complementarity is less perfect). This is a post - transcriptional regulation mechanism. Initiating transcription (usually done by transcription factors binding to promoter regions) and binding to promoter sequences to activate a gene are not the functions of microRNA.

Answer:

It inhibits protein production by breaking down the mRNA or preventing its translation.