基因工程的技术飞跃--TALE技术的研究进展

Advances in TALE Research

类转录激活因子(TALEs)是一类来源于植物致病菌黄单胞菌属(Xanthomonas)的III型效应因子。TALE由N端转移结构域、串联重复的DNA结合结构域、C端核定位信号及酸性转录激活结构域组成。TALE的DNA结合结构域经基因工程修饰能够识别并结合任意指定的DNA序列,从而可以实现对目的基因组位点的调控。目前,已有多种TALE的快速构建法。因此,TALE以及TALE衍生蛋白在基因工程领域具有广阔的应用前景。本文综述了TALE的研究现状,对TALE技术的优点和不足进行了简要的阐述,并对其应用前景做了初步探讨。

Transcription activator-like effectors （TALEs） are type III effector proteins from plant-pathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas. All TAL effectors are composed of an N-terminal translocation domain, central tandem repeat DNA binding domain, C-terminal nuclear localization signals and an acidic transcription- al activation domain. Central repeats of TALE can be engineered to bind any user-selected DNA targets. Conse- quently, TALE proteins can be engineered to achieve site-specific modification in the genome. Recently, several rapid TALE assembly approaches have been established. Therefore, TALE and TALE-derived proteins could be widely used for genome engineering. This article reviews recent advances in TALE research.