Let us tell you a fabulous TALE...

Transactivator-Like Effectors (TALEs) are a brand-new technology that currently revolutionizes the way researchers manipulate DNA with exceptional site specificity. Originally derived from ''Xanthomonas spp.'', this type of protein comprizes an effector domain and a modular DNA binding domain that can be rationally designed to bind to virtually any target sequence of DNA. Over the past two years, universal endonucleases (TALENs) and transcription factors have been tested in various organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. According to existing protocols, TALE assembly requires several weeks of work and substantial lab skills. In order to bring this technology within reach for iGEM students, we invented an extremely fast and easy TALE assembly strategy and developed a TALE platform with expression plasmids and new classes of TALEs. With our so called GATE assembly kit, future iGEM students will be able to precisely manipulate genomic loci easier and faster than anyone else in the world.