TAL effectors are remote controls for gene activation

authored by

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.

External Organisation(s)

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Type

Review article

Journal

Current Opinion in Microbiology

Volume

14

Pages

47-53

No. of pages

7

ISSN

1369-5274

Publication date

02.2011

Publication status

Published

Peer reviewed

Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Microbiology, Microbiology (medical), Infectious Diseases

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Electronic version(s)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mib.2010.12.001 (Access: Closed)