TALENs

TALENs were a kind of genetic engineering tool. They are restriction enzymes because they can cut specific sequences of DNA. They have a binding domain (strip of bases) and a cleavage domain.

The letters stand for "transcription activator-like effector nucleases". The technique was called "genome editing with engineered nucleases". Together with zinc finger nucleases and CRISPR/Cas9, TALEN was for a while an important tool in genome editing.^[1]

TALENs have now been superseded by CRISPR techniques.^[2]

TALENs Media

Spacefill drawing of dimeric TALE-FokI fusion (blue: TALE; green: FokI) bound to DNA (PDB 1FOK), by David Goodsell
Workflow of genome editing of Your Favorite Gene (YFG) using TALEN. The target sequence is identified, a corresponding TALEN sequence is engineered and inserted into a plasmid.

References

↑ Boch J. 2011. TALEs of genome targeting. Nature Biotechnology. 29 (2): 135–6. PMID https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21301438/
↑ Doudna J. & Sternberg S. 2017. A crack in creation: the new power to control evolution. Bodley Head, London, p111. ISBN 978-1-847-92382-0

[1] Boch J. 2011. TALEs of genome targeting. Nature Biotechnology. 29 (2): 135–6. PMID https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21301438/

[2] Doudna J. & Sternberg S. 2017. A crack in creation: the new power to control evolution. Bodley Head, London, p111. ISBN 978-1-847-92382-0

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