Olorunniji Femi J, Rosser Susan J, Stark W Marshall
Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of Glasgow, Bower Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland, U.K.
SynthSys-Synthetic and Systems Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, CH Waddington Building, The King's Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JD, Scotland, U.K.
Biochem J. 2016 Mar 15;473(6):673-84. doi: 10.1042/BJ20151112.
The fields of molecular genetics, biotechnology and synthetic biology are demanding ever more sophisticated molecular tools for programmed precise modification of cell genomic DNA and other DNA sequences. This review presents the current state of knowledge and development of one important group of DNA-modifying enzymes, the site-specific recombinases (SSRs). SSRs are Nature's 'molecular machines' for cut-and-paste editing of DNA molecules by inserting, deleting or inverting precisely defined DNA segments. We survey the SSRs that have been put to use, and the types of applications for which they are suitable. We also discuss problems associated with uses of SSRs, how these problems can be minimized, and how recombinases are being re-engineered for improved performance and novel applications.
分子遗传学、生物技术和合成生物学领域对用于细胞基因组DNA和其他DNA序列的程序化精确修饰的分子工具要求越来越高。本综述介绍了一类重要的DNA修饰酶——位点特异性重组酶（SSR）的当前知识状态和发展情况。SSR是自然界用于通过精确插入、删除或颠倒特定DNA片段来对DNA分子进行剪切和粘贴编辑的“分子机器”。我们调查了已投入使用的SSR及其适用的应用类型。我们还讨论了与SSR使用相关的问题、如何将这些问题最小化，以及重组酶如何被重新设计以提高性能和用于新的应用。
