Road to precision: recombinase-based targeting technologies for genome engineering

In the past years, recombinase-based approaches for integrating transgenes into defined chromosomal loci of mammalian cells have gained increasing attention. This method is attractive since it enables to precisely integrate transgenes of interest into pre-defined integration sites, thereby allowing to predict the expression properties of a genetically manipulated cell. This review focuses on the current state of targeting strategies including RMCE employing site-specific recombinases such as Cre, Flp and ΦC31. In particular, applications for protein expression, virus production, transgenic animals and chromosome engineering are described.