Recombinase technology: applications and possibilities

The use of recombinases for genomic engineering is no longer a new technology. In fact, this technology has entered its third decade since the initial discovery that recombinases function in heterologous systems (Sauer in Mol Cell Biol 7(6):2087-2096, 1987). The random insertion of a transgene into...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant cell reports 2011-03, Vol.30 (3), p.267-285
Main Authors: Wang, Yueju, Yau, Yuan-Yeu, Perkins-Balding, Donna, Thomson, James G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antibiotic resistance
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biotechnology
Biotechnology - methods
Cell Biology
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA Nucleotidyltransferases - genetics
excision
Genetic Engineering - methods
Genome, Plant
Genomics
Integration
Life Sciences
Mutagenesis, Insertional
Plant Biochemistry
Plant Sciences
Plants - genetics
Plants, Genetically Modified - genetics
Review
RMCE
Site-specific recombination
Transgenes
transgenic plants
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The use of recombinases for genomic engineering is no longer a new technology. In fact, this technology has entered its third decade since the initial discovery that recombinases function in heterologous systems (Sauer in Mol Cell Biol 7(6):2087-2096, 1987). The random insertion of a transgene into a plant genome by traditional methods generates unpredictable expression patterns. This feature of transgenesis makes screening for functional lines with predictable expression labor intensive and time consuming. Furthermore, an antibiotic resistance gene is often left in the final product and the potential escape of such resistance markers into the environment and their potential consumption raises consumer concern. The use of site-specific recombination technology in plant genome manipulation has been demonstrated to effectively resolve complex transgene insertions to single copy, remove unwanted DNA, and precisely insert DNA into known genomic target sites. Recombinases have also been demonstrated capable of site-specific recombination within non-nuclear targets, such as the plastid genome of tobacco. Here, we review multiple uses of site-specific recombination and their application toward plant genomic engineering. We also provide alternative strategies for the combined use of multiple site-specific recombinase systems for genome engineering to precisely insert transgenes into a pre-determined locus, and removal of unwanted selectable marker genes.
ISSN:0721-7714
1432-203X
DOI:10.1007/s00299-010-0938-1