Using TALENs for genome editing in plants

Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) are powerful tools for precise and efficient locus-specific editing. Among the various genome editing tools that were developed prior to the CRISPR/Cas system, TALENs have been the most widely used, and they remain worthy of consideration due to their unique targeting properties and the current intellectual property landscape, which give them distinct advantages over CRISPR/Cas for some applications. This chapter briefly reviews and discusses use of TALENs in plants including their important distinguishing features, as well as design principles and tools, methods for construct assembly, and other available resources to assist researchers using this technology.