Embodiments disclosed herein provide artificial expression systems comprising multivalent transcription factor complexes for cooperative transcription factor assembly and modulating gene expression. More specifically, engineered synthetic transcription factors are recruited and structurally organized on synthetic gene circuits using molecular clamps, where the strength of intra-complex interactions can be modulated for fine tuning of gene expression as desired.

This disclosure describes, in one aspect, a cell that includes a biocontainment system. Generally, the biocontainment system includes a coding region whose overexpression decreases growth of the cell, a transcription regulatory region that includes a silent mutation and is operably linked upstream of the coding region, and a polynucleotide that encodes a programmable transcription activator engineered to bind to the transcription regulatory region in the absence of the silent mutation. Thus, in the absence of the silent mutation, the programmable transcription activator induces overexpression of the coding region; in the presence of the silent mutation, the programmable transcription activator does not initiate overexpression of the coding region.

Temperature sensitive transcriptional bioswitches and related genetic circuits and in particular bandpass and/or multiplex genetic circuits, vectors, cells, compositions methods and systems are described.

This disclosure concerns compositions and methods for increasing the expression of a polynucleotide of interest. Some embodiments concern novel transactivation polypeptides and variants thereof that have been identified in plants, and methods of using the same. Particular embodiments concern the use of at least one DNA-binding polypeptide in a fusion protein to target at least one transactivation polypeptide or variant thereof to a specific binding site on a nucleic acid comprising the polynucleotide of interest, such that its expression may be increased.

Stimulation of target cells using light, e.g., in vivo, is implemented using a variety of methods and devices. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, target cells are stimulated using an implantable arrangement. The arrangement includes an electrical light-generation means for generating light and a biological portion. The biological portion has a photosensitive bio-molecular arrangement that responds to the generated light by stimulating target cells in vivo.

The invention provides a compositions and methods for controlling phenotypic traits in plants. Genes of interest are placed under the control of a gene switch to allow inducible control or expression of a gene of interest on-demand by treatment of the plant with a chemical ligand.

Disclosed herein are compositions and method comprising non-canonical (e.g., non-C2H2) zinc finger proteins.

The object of the present invention is to, by analyzing PPR proteins that act to bind to DNA with a prediction that RNA recognition rules of PPR motifs can also be used for recognition of DNA, find a PPR protein showing such a characteristic. According to the present invention, it was revealed that, with a protein that can bind in a DNA base-selective manner or a DNA base sequence-specific manner, which contains one or more, preferably 2 to 30, more preferably 5 to 25, most preferably 9 to 15, of PPR motifs having a structure of the following formula 1 (wherein, in the formula 1, Helix A is a part that can form an ?-helix structure; X does not exist, or is a part consisting of 1 to 9 amino acids; Helix B is a part that can form an ?-helix structure; and L is a part consisting of 2 to 7 amino acids), and having a specific combination of amino acids corresponding to a DNA base or DNA base sequence as amino acids of three positions of No. 1 A.A., No. 4 A.A., in Helix A of the formula 1 and No. ii (?2) A.A. contained in L of the formula 1, the aforementioned object could be achieved.

(Helix A)-X-(Helix B)-L(Formula 1)

The present invention refers to methods for selectively recognizing a base pair in a DNA sequence by a polypeptide, to modified polypeptides which specifically recognize one or more base pairs in a DNA sequence and, to DNA which is modified so that it can be specifically recognized by a polypeptide and to uses of the polypeptide and DNA in specific DNA targeting as well as to methods of modulating expression of target genes in a cell.

The present invention relates to a method for targeted inactivation of transcription factor using an artificial small interfering peptide and a use thereof. According to the present invention, an artificial small interfering peptide (a-siPEP) as a truncated from of the transcription factor for regulating transcription by dimerization was produced. It was also confirmed that, as a-siPEP forms a heterodimer with a transcription factor, DNA binding and transport into a nucleus of the transcription factor are inhibited, so that inactivation of the transcription factor is achieved at protein level. The method for inhibiting transcription factor activity using a-siPEP can replace a gene knock-out method and it allows protein-level inhibition of a transcription factor. Also, it is a transcription regulation method with high precision and high efficiency that can be applied for both monocot and dicot plants.