A TALE of Two Nucleases: Gene Targeting for the Masses?

Genome editing appears poised to enter an exciting new era. Targeted double-stranded breaks due to custom restriction enzymes are powerful nucleating events for the induction of local changes in the genome. The zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) platform established the potential of this approach for the zebrafish, but access to high quality reagents has been a major bottleneck for the field. However, two groups recently report successful somatic and germline gene modification using a new nuclease architecture, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs). TALEN construction is simpler, potentially more reliable, and in the few cases examined, shows fewer off-target effects than corresponding ZFNs. TALENs promise to bring gene targeting to the majority of zebrafish laboratories.