The low levels of CFTR gene expression and paucity of CFTR protein in human airway epithelial cells are not easily reconciled with the pivotal role of the lung in cystic fibrosis pathology. Previous data suggested that the regulatory mechanisms controlling CFTR gene expression might be different in airway epithelium in comparison to intestinal epithelium where CFTR mRNA and protein is much more...

Gene expression systems that allow the regulation of bacterial genes during an infection are valuable molecular tools but are lacking for mycobacterial pathogens. We report the development of mycobacterial gene regulation systems that allow controlling gene expression in fast and slow-growing mycobacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, using anhydrotetracycline (ATc) as inducer. The sys...

Transcriptional repression is a common approach to control gene expression in synthetic biology applications. Here, an engineered DNA binding protein based upon a transcription activator-like effector (TALE) scaffold was shown to outperform LacI in blocking transcription from a promoter and to repress expression of a downstream gene in an operon.

A total of 58 mutations at the engrailed locus were isolated. Analysis suggests that this genetic locus is necessary for survival but required only in the cells of the posterior compartments. Inactivation of the engrailed locus renders the animal incapable of maintaining the separation between the groups of cells that constitute either the compartments that subdivide each segment or the individ...