Product category:
Genomics
News Release from: Sigma-Aldrich | Subject: TargeTron
Edited by the Laboratorytalk Editorial
Team on 18 February 2005
Creating knockouts across a spectrum of
organisms
System promises to revolutionise functional genomics and systems biology, providing a robust and simple method for site-specific disruption of DNA sequences within a host cell genome
Sigma-Aldrich announces commercialisation of the TargeTron gene knockout system Developed by Alan Lambowitz, University of Texas at Austin, and exclusively licensed from Ingex, the TargeTron system promises to revolutionise functional genomics and systems biology
This article was originally published on Laboratorytalk on 19 Oct 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Targeting gene disruption technology
System will be developed for the creation of permanent gene knockouts across a broad range of prokaryotes, to have applications in prokaryotic genetic engineering and functional genomics
Vectors increase flexibility of gene knockout
Used in conjunction with these three new vectors, the TargeTron gene knockout system provides researchers with a more flexible tool for generating prokaryotic knockouts
The TargeTron system provides the most robust and simple method available for site-specific disruption of DNA sequences within a host cell genome.
In fact, permanent gene disruption is performed in a non-random or targeted manner that does not require host recombination factors to mobilise, says Sigma-Aldrich.
The technology exploits the retrohoming ability of group II introns in order to target the exact position of gene disruption.
An extensively validated TargeTron algorithm designs specific primer sets for use in PCR mutation of the TargeTron Intron.
The mutated intron is essentially reprogrammed to insert itself into the algorithm-predicted site of any user-defined gene.
Ligation of the PCR product into a TargeTron vector is followed by transformation of the host cell.
Expression results in a ribonucleoprotein complex that targets the intron to the precise insertion site within the host genome, resulting in gene knockout.
Thus far, the technology has provided greater than 90% successfully targeted insertion rate in prokaryotes.
The current TargeTron system has been used to create permanent knockouts across a broad range of bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Lactococcus lactis, Clostridium perfringens, Shigella flexneri and Salmonella typhimurium.
Future systems will be developed for both plant and mammalian targeted gene disruption.
"Group II intron-mediated gene disruption offers advantages over the laborious traditional gene knockout techniques such as randomly integrated transposons and cumbersome recombination methods," commented Keith Jolliff, global marketing manager of molecular biology at Sigma-Aldrich.
"TargeTron technology has potential to be the most widely applicable functional genomics tool for creating knockouts across a spectrum of host organisms.".
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