> Information Center > Technical FAQs > Genome Editing Technology Column > How does CRISPR-Cas9 compare to other genome editing tools
ZFN are the oldest and most established of the aforementioned engineered DNA-binding proteins, most habitually based on the FokI restriction enzyme fused to a zinc finger DNA-binding domain engineered to target a specific DNA sequence. Multiple methods are available to researchers for selecting and designing ZFN targeted to new and desired sites.
TALENs are naturally occurring proteins derived from the bacterial genus Xanthomonas that are similar to ZFNs, as the activity is again through the FokI. Each DNA-binding domain can recognize a different, single DNA base, thus a combination of different TALENs can (in practice) be used to target any specific sequence on the genome.
Both ZFN and TALENs are modular proteins that interact with the major groove of the double helix structure of DNA in order to recognize specific base pairs. Each zinc finger module binds with a nucleotide triplet, whereas TALEN subunits interact with single base pairs. We have ZFN available to target practically all possible nucleotide triplets, albeit individual zinc fingers can display context-dependent effects.
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