Transposable element protein that directs DNA integration to specific chromosomal sites

摘要

The present invention provides methods for altering the integration site specificity of retrotransposons and retroviruses by modifying the integrase protein (especially via engineering its coding sequence) to include a peptide portion which interacts specifically with a protein associated with a chromosome, e.g., a transcription factor, or which interacts with a particular nucleic acid sequence. Further disclosed is a peptide portion of the integrase of Ty5 which peptide portion directs integration of Ty5 or any other retrotransposon or retrovirus into whose integrase it is included into silent chromosome regions and mutant Ty5 integrase proteins for which the insertional specificity is destroyed.