Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026

Mouse Genome Engineering Using Designer Nucleases
Published on: April 2, 2014
Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs): a highly efficient and versatile tool for genome editing
1Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 600 South Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Abstract:
Transcription activator-like effector (TALE) nucleases (TALENs) have recently emerged as a revolutionary genome editing tool in many different organisms and cell types. The site-specific chromosomal double-strand breaks introduced by TALENs significantly increase the efficiency of genomic modification. The modular nature of the TALE central repeat domains enables researchers to tailor DNA recognition specificity with ease and target essentially any desired DNA sequence. Here, we comprehensively review the development of TALEN technology in terms of scaffold optimization, DNA recognition, and repeat array assembly. In addition, we provide some perspectives on the future development of this technology.
Related Concept Videos
CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
CRISPR
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
CRISPR and crRNAs
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
Homologous Recombination

