Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, a $1.2-billion Life Science and High Technology company, has partnered with Ingex, L.L.C. to provide a gene disruption technology.
The technology, called TargeTron, offers a novel solution to drawbacks of current siRNA and transposon-based methods. The system provides a simple, streamlined method that allows the researcher to re-target the TargeTron group II intron for precise insertion into a host genome. Insertion results in permanent knockout of the target gene.
The first system will be developed for the creation of permanent gene knockouts across a broad range of prokaryotes and is anticipated to have a variety of applications in prokaryotic genetic engineering and functional genomics. Such applications include the identification of novel drug targets and probiotics and systems biology approaches to study metabolic pathways. Future systems are planned for targeted plant and mammalian gene disruption, the official release said.
"The Sigma R&D team is collaborating with the inventors to continue to refine and further develop the TargeTron technology," Keith Jolliff, global marketing manager of Molecular Biology at Sigma-Aldrich noted adding, "The scientists will be supported by Sigma's world-class sales, marketing and technical support groups. We believe this is a winning combination for the functional genomics and systems biology research community."
Key advantages of TargeTron include-First method for precise targeted disruption of sequences within a host genome; permanent knockout or disruption of target gene; 90 per cent successful targeted insertion into a variety of prokaryotic genomes; potentially the most widely applicable technology across a broad range of organisms, the release added.