TALEN-mediated Drosophila genome editing: Protocols and applications

TALEs (transcription activator-like effectors) are a family of natural transcriptional activators originally isolated from the plant pathogen of Xanthomonas spp. The DNA binding motif of TALEs can be re-designed in such way that they bind specific DNA sequences other than their original targets. Fusion of customized TALEs with an endonuclease, Fok I, generates artificial enzymes that are targeted to specific DNA sites for cutting, allowing gene specific modification of both animal and plant genomes. Previously, we reported the use of TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nuclease) for the highly specific and efficient modification of the two Drosophila loci yellow and CG9797. Here, we describe a detailed protocol for TALEN-mediated genomic modification in Drosophila, with the aim of providing a practical bench guide for the Drosophila research community.