title: Transcription activator-like effectors: a toolkit for synthetic biology.
abstract: Transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) are proteins secreted by Xanthomonas bacteria to aid the infection of plant species. TALEs assist infections by binding to specific DNA sequences and activating the expression of host genes. Recent results show that TALE proteins consist of a central repeat domain, which determines the DNA targeting specificity and can be rapidly synthesized de novo. Considering the highly modular nature of TALEs, their versatility, and the ease of constructing these proteins, this technology can have important implications for synthetic biology applications. Here, we review developments in the area with a particular focus on modifications for custom and controllable gene regulation.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Department, The University of Texas at Dallas , 800 West Campbell Road, Richardson, Texas 75080 United States.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chandrahas
authors.forename: Leonidas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bleris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D006801:Humans; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020449:Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014974:Xanthomonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D015534:Trans-Activators