Sigma-Aldrich Launches Breakthrough Genome-Edi...( CompoZr(TM) Zinc Finger Nuclease Pla...)

CompoZr(TM) Zinc Finger Nuclease Platform enables Precise, Permanent, and

Heritable Modification of the Genome

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sigma-Aldrich (Nasdaq: SIAL) today launched its CompoZr(TM) platform of zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) reagents. The CompoZr ZFN platform of reagents is expected to provide researchers with the ability to target and precisely manipulate the genome of living cells, resulting in cell lines or whole organisms with defined gene deletions, insertions, or corrections. Initially offered as a customized service for developing ZFNs for specific gene targets, the CompoZr ZFN platform will eventually include ZFN-based kits for targeted transgene insertion and a catalog of off-the-shelf reagents for commonly studied gene targets, gene families, and pathways. Applications for Sigma's new platform technology include creation of knockout and knock-in cell lines, cell lines that yield significantly greater amounts of protein, and novel transgenic animal models.

ZFN reagents are a class of engineered DNA-binding proteins that facilitate targeted editing of the genome within a living cell by creating double-strand breaks in DNA at user-specified locations. Double-strand breaks stimulate the cell's natural DNA-repair processes, namely homologous recombination and non-homologous end joining, to induce site-specific mutagenesis. Using CompoZr reagents, researchers can, for the first time, generate precisely targeted genomic edits using a rapid, single-step procedure, resulting in cell lines with permanent and heritable gene deletions, insertions, or modifications. Additionally, Sigma-Aldrich is collaborating with leading academic researchers to demonstrate the effectiveness of ZFNs in the creation of whole animal knockout models in mice and other species, including rats and rabbits.

"Zinc Finger Nuclease technology has held significant promise for more than a decade and is now mature enough
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