TAL effectors are remote controls for gene activation

verfasst von

Heidi Scholze, Jens Boch

Abstract

TAL (transcription activator- like) effectors constitute a novel class of DNA-binding proteins with predictable specificity. They are employed by Gram-negative plant-pathogenic bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas which translocate a cocktail of different effector proteins via a type III secretion system (T3SS) into plant cells where they serve as virulence determinants. Inside the plant cell, TALs localize to the nucleus, bind to target promoters, and induce expression of plant genes. DNA-binding specificity of TALs is determined by a central domain of tandem repeats. Each repeat confers recognition of one base pair (bp) in the DNA. Rearrangement of repeat modules allows design of proteins with desired DNA-binding specificities. Here, we summarize how TAL specificity is encoded, first structural data and first data on site-specific TAL nucleases.

Externe Organisation(en)

Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg

Typ

Übersichtsarbeit

Journal

Current Opinion in Microbiology

Band

14

Seiten

47-53

Anzahl der Seiten

7

ISSN

1369-5274

Publikationsdatum

02.2011

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Mikrobiologie, Mikrobiologie (medizinisch), Infektionskrankheiten

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 3 – Gute Gesundheit und Wohlergehen

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2010.12.001 (Zugang: Geschlossen)