TALEN technology

(Daniela Penna)

GeneArt TAL or TALEN technology is derived from TAL proteins.

Transcription Activator–Like (TAL) effector proteins are produced by Xanthomonas bacteria, a genus of plant pathogens.

TAL naturally binds to specific sequences of the host DNA, altering the gene expression. TAL proteins have two distinct domains: an effector domain and an extraordinarily specific DNA-binding domain.

The DNA-binding domain consists of a variable number of amino acid repeats. Each repeat contains 33–35 amino acids. The amino acids number 12 and 13, called Repeat-Variable Di-residues (RVDs), are responsible for the specific recognition of a single DNA base pair.

The DNA-binding domain repeats can be assembled modularly, and the RVDs can be varied to create a TAL protein that specifically targets any locus in the genome.

The DNA-binding domain can then be linked to a custom Effector domain (e.g., a nuclease, or a transcription activator or repressor) to create a chimeric protein to precisely manipulate DNA.

This technology is known to function in bacteria, yeast, plants, insects, zebrafish, and mammals.

The TAL effector can:                                   

• Knock out a gene
• Correct a gene
• Insert a DNA sequence
• Activate a gene transcription
• Repress a gene transcription
• Any other function of your choice

 TALEN technology can be used to:

• Elucidating gene function and regulation
• Metabolic pathways study
• Embryonic stem cell research
• Disease models research

To better understand, watch this video made by Thermo Fisher: 

How TALEN works

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