Applicatons of the Cre recombinase LoxP system

The main feature that makes the Cre/loxP system so useful for DNA manipulation is that it needs no co-factors or additional sequence elements for efficient recombination to occur and it is functional regardless of the cellular environment [5]. This property has opened the door for numerous applications. The most wide spread use is using the system to alter DNA in almost any application with the only limiting factor being the ability to get loxP sites into the genome of the organism of interest [6]. This system has been widely used in generating models of disease mainly in mice. The Cre/loxP system allows for deletions, inversions, translocations, or additions of DNA to the genome allowing researchers to alter the structure of gene and gene products to help understand the mechanisms of disease [5].