Applications of Engineered DNA-Binding Molecules Such as TAL Proteins and the CRISPR/Cas System in Biology Research

Int J Mol Sci. 2015 Sep 24;16(10):23143-64. doi: 10.3390/ijms161023143.

Abstract

Engineered DNA-binding molecules such as transcription activator-like effector (TAL or TALE) proteins and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) (CRISPR/Cas) system have been used extensively for genome editing in cells of various types and species. The sequence-specific DNA-binding activities of these engineered DNA-binding molecules can also be utilized for other purposes, such as transcriptional activation, transcriptional repression, chromatin modification, visualization of genomic regions, and isolation of chromatin in a locus-specific manner. In this review, we describe applications of these engineered DNA-binding molecules for biological purposes other than genome editing.

Keywords: CRISPR/Cas; Cas9; TAL; TALE; dCas9; enChIP; live imaging; locus-specific ChIP; sgRNA; transcription.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism
  • CRISPR-Associated Proteins / genetics
  • CRISPR-Associated Proteins / metabolism*
  • CRISPR-Cas Systems*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / genetics
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Protein Engineering
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • CRISPR-Associated Proteins
  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Transcription Factors