NMR solution structure of the RED subdomain of the Sleeping Beauty transposase

Contemporary Transposon Tools: A Review and Guide through Mechanisms and Applications of Sleeping Beauty, piggyBac and Tol2 for Genome Engineering

Transposons are mobile genetic elements evolved to execute highly efficient integration of their genes into the genomes of their host cells. These natural DNA transfer vehicles have been harnessed as experimental tools for stably introducing a wide variety of foreign DNA sequences, including selectable marker genes, reporters, shRNA expression cassettes, mutagenic gene trap cassettes, and therapeutic gene constructs into the genomes of target cells in a regulated and highly efficient manner. Given that transposon components are typically supplied as naked nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) or recombinant protein, their use is simple, safe, and economically competitive. Thus, transposons enable several avenues for genome manipulations in vertebrates, including transgenesis for the generation of transgenic cells in tissue culture comprising the generation of pluripotent stem cells, the production of germline-transgenic animals for basic and applied research, forward genetic screens for functional gene annotation in model species and therapy of genetic disorders in humans. This review describes the molecular mechanisms involved in transposition reactions of the three most widely used transposon systems currently available (Sleeping Beauty, piggyBac, and Tol2), and discusses the various parameters and considerations pertinent to their experimental use, highlighting the state-of-the-art in transposon technology in diverse genetic applications.

Jumping Ahead with Sleeping Beauty: Mechanistic Insights into Cut-and-Paste Transposition

Sleeping Beauty (SB) is a transposon system that has been widely used as a genetic engineering tool. Central to the development of any transposon as a research tool is the ability to integrate a foreign piece of DNA into the cellular genome. Driven by the need for efficient transposon-based gene vector systems, extensive studies have largely elucidated the molecular actors and actions taking place during SB transposition. Close transposon relatives and other recombination enzymes, including retroviral integrases, have served as useful models to infer functional information relevant to SB. Recently obtained structural data on the SB transposase enable a direct insight into the workings of this enzyme. These efforts cumulatively allowed the development of novel variants of SB that offer advanced possibilities for genetic engineering due to their hyperactivity, integration deficiency, or targeting capacity. However, many aspects of the process of transposition remain poorly understood and require further investigation. We anticipate that continued investigations into the structure-function relationships of SB transposition will enable the development of new generations of transposition-based vector systems, thereby facilitating the use of SB in preclinical studies and clinical trials.