Targeted nucleases have recently emerged as a powerful genome editing tool. The ability of introducing targeted, desired changes into mammalian genome makes them an invaluable tool to unravel functions of miRNAs in biology and disease. In combination with homologous donor vector, targeted nucleases can achieve high efficiency and precision, enabling bi-allelic ablation of miRNA in cultured somatic cells. Here we review the structure and function of miRNA as well as the unique implementation of genome editing technology in modifying miRNA sequences in mammalians. This chapter discusses the four mainstay genome editing technologies: meganuclease, zinc finger nuclease (ZFN), transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat-associated nuclease Cas9 (CRISPR-Cas9), focusing on TALEN.
Part of the book: Modern Tools for Genetic Engineering