page_title: Transcription activator-like effector nuclease
hierarchical_section_title: Transcription activator-like effector nuclease
caption_attribution_description: English: Space-filling drawing of an engineered TAL effector/nuclease bound to double-helical DNA. TALE proteins contain a series of alpha-helical hairpin domains, each of which binds an individual DNA base, so that the protein recognizes a long, very specific DNA sequence. This engineered construct attaches the specific FOK1 nuclease to one end of the TALE protein, and when two copies bind as a dimer the nuclease cleaves both strands of the DNA. Drawn by David Goodsell from PDB files 1FOK (nuclease/DNA) and 3UGM (TALE/DNA).
context_page_description: Transcription activator-like effector nucleases are restriction enzymes that can be engineered to cut specific sequences of DNA. They are made by fusing a TAL effector DNA-binding domain to a DNA cleavage domain. Transcription activator-like effectors can be engineered to bind to practically any desired DNA sequence, so when combined with a nuclease, DNA can be cut at specific locations. The restriction enzymes can be introduced into cells, for use in gene editing or for genome editing in situ, a technique known as genome editing with engineered nucleases. Alongside zinc finger nucleases and CRISPR/Cas9, TALEN is a prominent tool in the field of genome editing.
context_section_description: Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) are restriction enzymes that can be engineered to cut specific sequences of DNA. They are made by fusing a TAL effector DNA-binding domain to a DNA cleavage domain (a nuclease which cuts DNA strands). Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) can be engineered to bind to practically any desired DNA sequence, so when combined with a nuclease, DNA can be cut at specific locations. The restriction enzymes can be introduced into cells, for use in gene editing or for genome editing in situ, a technique known as genome editing with engineered nucleases. Alongside zinc finger nucleases and CRISPR/Cas9, TALEN is a prominent tool in the field of genome editing.
caption: Spacefill drawing of dimeric TALE-FokI fusion (blue: TALE; green: FokI) bound to DNA (PDB: 1FOK, 3UGM​), by David Goodsell
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