Development of a new way to make a powerful tool for altering gene sequences should greatly increase the ability of researchers to knock out or otherwise alter the expression of any gene they are studying. The new method allows investigators to quickly create a large number of TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases), enzymes that target specific DNA sequences and have several advantages over zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), which have become a critical tool for investigating gene function and potential gene therapy applications."I believe that TALENs and the ability to make them in high throughput, which this new technology allows, could literally change the way much of biology is practiced by enabling rapid and simple targeted knockout of any gene of interest by any researcher," says J. Keith Joung, MD, PhD, associate chief for Research in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Pathology and co-senior author of the report that will appear in Nature Biotechnology and has received advance online release.
TALENs take advantage of TAL effectors, proteins naturally secreted by a plant bacteria that are able to recognize specific base pairs of DNA. A string of the appropriate TAL effectors can be designed to recognize and bind to any desired DNA sequence. Read More
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