Cited by 3,820CRISPR and Genetic EngineeringRNA regulation and diseaseAnimal Genetics and Reproduction

ZFN, TALEN, and CRISPR/Cas-based methods for genome engineering

Open access
Gaj, Thomas, Gersbach, Charles A., Barbas, Carlos F.·2013·Trends in Biotechnology

Abstract

Zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) comprise a powerful class of tools that are redefining the boundaries of biological research. These chimeric nucleases are composed of programmable, sequence-specific DNA-binding modules linked to a nonspecific DNA cleavage domain. ZFNs and TALENs enable a broad range of genetic modifications by inducing DNA double-strand breaks that stimulate error-prone nonhomologous end joining or homology-directed repair at specific genomic locations. Here, we review achievements made possible by site-specific nuclease technologies and discuss applications of these reagents for genetic analysis and manipulation. In addition, we highlight the therapeutic potential of ZFNs and TALENs and discuss future prospects for the field, including the emergence of clustered regulatory interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)/Cas-based RNA-guided DNA endonucleases.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.tibtech.2013.04.004

Cites

119 of 119 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The CRISPR/Cas9 system has an advantage in size compared with TALENs.

    “Fortunately, the CRISPR/Cas9 system has the advantage in size compared with TALENs 22 .”

    From Harnessing the CRISPR/Cas9 system to disrupt latent HIV-1 provirus (2013) · cites this paper as [22]

    The Future directions section says the large size of TALENs may limit delivery by size-restricted vectors. It does not compare TALEN size with CRISPR/Cas9 size, so it supports the TALEN size concern but not the claimed comparative advantage. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • These nucleases induce DNA double-strand breaks at precise locations in the host genome, facilitating integration of the cassette by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR).

    “These nucleases induce DNA double-strand breaks at precise locations into the host genome, facilitating the integration of the cassette by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) or homology-directed repair (HDR) (Gaj et al., 2013).”

    From Therapeutic glycoprotein production in mammalian cells (2017) · cites this paper as Gaj et al., 2013

  • TALEN technique has already been widely used for genome editing in a variety of cells, plants, model organisms, livestock and even human cells.

    “In a short time after discovery, this technique has already been widely used for genome editing in a variety of cells, plants, model organisms, livestock and even human cells [66,67].”

    From Newer Gene Editing Technologies toward HIV Gene Therapy (2013) · cites this paper as [67]

  • The discovery that TALEs use a simple modular code for DNA recognition has provided an alternative platform for genome editing and gene disruption.

    “The discovery that TALEs use a simple modular code for DNA recognition has provided an alternative platform for genome editing and gene disruption.”

    From Newer Gene Editing Technologies toward HIV Gene Therapy (2013) · cites this paper as [67]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [17]Beerli RR Positive and negative regulation of endogenous genes by designed transcription factors Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A 2000 97 1495 1500 10660690 PMC26462

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Gaj, T., Gersbach, C. A., & Barbas, C. F.
Affiliations
  • Scripps Research Institute (US)
  • Duke University (US)
Corresponding author
Barbas, Carlos F.
Venue
Trends in Biotechnology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2013-07
Volume
31
Issue
7
Pages
397-405
ISSN
0167-7799 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2112444085
Cited by
3,820
References
119
Citations by year
2026: 142 · 2025: 222 · 2024: 254 · 2023: 266 · 2022: 314 · 2021: 302 · 2020: 266 · 2019: 303 · 2018: 287 · 2017: 300 · 2016: 320 · 2015: 373 · 2014: 352 · 2013: 114 · 2012: 1
FWCI
35.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Trends in biotechnology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (1dp2od008586-01)
  • National Cancer Institute (DP1CA174426)
  • National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM080209)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › CRISPR and Genetic Engineering
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA regulation and disease
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Animal Genetics and Reproduction
Keywords
zinc finger nucleases, TALEN, CRISPR-Cas, genome editing, site-specific DNA cleavage, DNA double-strand breaks, homology-directed repair, non-homologous end joining, gene targeting, gene therapy, RNA-guided DNA endonuclease
MeSH terms
Biological Therapy, Deoxyribonucleases, Genetic Engineering, Molecular Biology, Recombinant Proteins, Zinc Fingers, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review