[Progress in the study of the structure and function of Cre recombinase]

The Cre recombinase, an integrase from bacteriophage P1, catalyzes site-specific recombination between 34-bp repeats termed loxP sites, in the absence of any additional cofactors and energy. Mediated by Cre recombinase, specific DNA fragments can be excised, inversed or integrated depending on the orientation or position of loxP sites in vitro or in vivo. Because of its simplicity and high efficiency, Cre/loxP site-specific recombination system has been widely used in gene deletion and function identification, gene site-specific integration, gene trapping and chromosome engineering. It has been used as a useful tool for DNA recombination in transgenic yeast, plants, insects and mammals. Here progress in the study of the structure and function of Cre recombinase is discussed.