The Evolution of Meganucleases Genome Engineering Tools: an overview

Abstract

Human beings today have been able to pursue goals with non-random changes in the genome of living organisms. This is the process of genetic engineering or genome editing, which involves replacing, inserting, or deleting an arbitrary genomic sequence using an artificial restriction enzyme capable of cleaving a specific part of the genome. The ability to manipulate and modify genes and functional studies as well as awareness of the molecular basis of diseases and the development of new and targeted therapies with these techniques have been created. To date, different techniques have now been developed with the ability to edit targeted genomics including Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs), Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN) and Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) / CRISPR associated protein 9 (Cas9) (CRISPR/Cas9). The fusing of a zinc-finger DNA-binding domain to a DNA-cleavage domain produces artificial restriction enzymes known as Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs). Zinc finger domains can be designed to target a specific DNA sequence which causes ZFNs to target unique sequences in complex genomes. TALENs are made by fusing a TAL effector DNA-binding domain to a DNA cleavage domain to cut DNA strands at specific locations. CRISPR/Cas9 is a bacterial immune system against viruses in which the Cas9 nucleus connects with a single-strand guide to a complementary target sequence and makes changes. In this study, we will review the evolution and various aspects of each one over time.