Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
Genome. 2012 Aug;55(8):553-69. doi: 10.1139/g2012-049. Epub 2012 Aug 14.
Buried within the genomes of many microorganisms are genetic elements that encode rare-cutting homing endonucleases that assist in the mobility of the elements that encode them, such as the self-splicing group I and II introns and in some cases inteins. There are several different families of homing endonucleases and their ability to initiate and target specific sequences for lateral transfers makes them attractive reagents for gene targeting. Homing endonucleases have been applied in promoting DNA modification or genome editing such as gene repair or "gene knockouts". This review examines the categories of homing endonucleases that have been described so far and their possible applications to biotechnology. Strategies to engineer homing endonucleases to alter target site specificities will also be addressed. Alternatives to homing endonucleases such as zinc finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, triplex forming oligonucleotide nucleases, and targetrons are also briefly discussed.
许多微生物的基因组中都隐藏着遗传元件，这些元件编码稀有切割的归巢内切核酸酶，有助于它们所编码的元件的移动，如自我剪接的 I 类和 II 类内含子，在某些情况下还有内含子。归巢内切核酸酶有几个不同的家族，它们能够启动和针对特定序列进行横向转移，这使它们成为基因靶向的有吸引力的试剂。归巢内切核酸酶已被应用于促进 DNA 修饰或基因组编辑，如基因修复或“基因敲除”。这篇综述检查了迄今为止所描述的归巢内切核酸酶的类别及其在生物技术中的可能应用。还将讨论对归巢内切核酸酶进行工程改造以改变靶位点特异性的策略。也简要讨论了替代归巢内切核酸酶的方法，如锌指核酸酶、转录激活因子样效应物核酸酶、三链形成寡核苷酸核酸酶和靶向体。
