Nucleic Acids Res 2014 Feb 21;42(4):2564-76. Epub 2013 Nov 21.
Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, UW Box 357350, 1705 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA, Graduate Program in Biomolecular Structure and Design, University of Washington, UW Box 357350, 1705 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA, Graduate Program in Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Washington, UW Box 357275, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA, Department of Life Sciences, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, Imperial College Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK, Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB1 3QA, UK, Institute for Systems Biology, 401 Terry Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98109, USA and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, UW Box 357350, 1705 NE Pacific St., Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Homing endonucleases (HEs) can be used to induce targeted genome modification to reduce the fitness of pathogen vectors such as the malaria-transmitting Anopheles gambiae and to correct deleterious mutations in genetic diseases. We describe the creation of an extensive set of HE variants with novel DNA cleavage specificities using an integrated experimental and computational approach. Using computational modeling and an improved selection strategy, which optimizes specificity in addition to activity, we engineered an endonuclease to cleave in a gene associated with Anopheles sterility and another to cleave near a mutation that causes pyruvate kinase deficiency.
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