Site-specific recombinases in genetic engineering: modern in vivo technologies

Current advances in the field of site-specific recombinases (SSR) and their application for pro- and eukaryotic genomics are reviewed. Functions of SSR and main types of the genetic rearrangements they catalyze are outlined. Examples described in the review show the potential of SSR for studies of a diverse array of fundamental and applied problems, which are not easily solved (or not solved at all) with the help of other experimental approaches. Use of SSR for wider set of biological systems, generation of recombinases with a strict temporal and spatial control of their activity and search for SSR displaying new substrate specificity are major directions of development of SSR-based technology.

Keywords: site-specific recombinases, genetic engineering