Ridgene

Ridgene is a term used in speculative genetics to denote a hypothetical gene that enables rapid, inducible degradation of target proteins.

In proposed models, ridgene encodes a degron or adaptor that, upon exposure to an inducer such as a small molecule, light, or temperature cue, promotes tagging of the target protein for destruction by cellular proteolytic systems (for example, the ubiquitin-proteasome system) or autophagy.

Ridgene can be integrated with inducible promoters and programmable circuits in synthetic biology to achieve precise temporal control over protein levels, enabling rapid knockdown experiments and dynamic circuit behavior.

Because ridgene is not an established, widely recognized gene in public genomic databases, its use remains conceptual. Practical challenges include achieving tight control with minimal basal activity, avoiding off-target effects, and ensuring effective delivery and expression in the organism of interest.

In research planning, ridgene concepts are often discussed alongside real degron systems such as auxin-inducible degron, the dTAG system, PROTAC-based approaches, and components of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.