TET Systems and Takara Bio Europe Together Launch a Series of Webinars on the Tet Technology

Takara Bio Europe (St. Germain en Laye) and TET Systems (Heidelberg) announced today that they would be hosting a series of four webinars on the Tet Technology in the first half of December 2012. This webinar series aims to provide additional insights into the most successful technology for controlling gene expression in eukaryotes and how to best use it.

Controlled gene expression is a method used to study the function of eukaryotic genes. The Tet technology is the most widely cited inducible mammalian expression system used today for this purpose. It was invented 20 years ago by Prof. Bujard and Dr. Gossen, at the Center for Molecular Biology (ZMBH) at the University of Heidelberg. Continuous improvements of the technology, by the inventors as well as by scientists using the technology, have led to the development of the 3rd generation of Tet technology which combines extremely tight control of gene expression with the ability to induce expression several thousand fold.

The Tet technology consists of a chimeric transactivator protein and a Tet-specific promoter which the transactivator binds to in response to the presence (Tet-On®) or absence (Tet-Off®) of the tetracycline analogue doxycycline. The Tet systems turn the expression of a gene of interest on or off at will, in a dose-dependent and reversible manner. In particular, the fully reversible nature of the Tet technology has enabled breakthrough insights into mechanisms of learning in animals by the Kandel group, and in the field of oncology. Other recent applications include the expression of inhibitory RNAs, and inducible pluripotent stem cells.

Webinars

Tuesday December 4, 4 pm CET

Studying Gene Function by Controlling Expression in vivo

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hermann Bujard, University of Heidelberg, Germany

Wednesday December 5, 4 pm CET

Controlling Gene Expression in transgenic mice

Dr. Kai Schönig, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

Tuesday December 11, 4 pm CET

Tet System: selected applications

Dr. Manfred Gossen, BCRT, Berlin, Germany

Wednesday December 12, 4 pm CET

Getting started with Tet-induced gene expression - Choosing the right system for your application

Dr. Michael Elser, Product Manager, Clontech/Takara Bio Europe, France

See registration page for abstracts of the webinars: www.clontech.com/tetwebinar

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About the speakers

Hermann Bujard has held positions in academia and industry. In 1970 he was offered the chair of Molecular Genetics at Heidelberg University, and from 1980 to 1985 he was Head of Biological Research and Deputy Director at F. Hoffmann-La Roche in Basel, Switzerland. He returned to Heidelberg to the ZMBH (Center for Molecular Biology) in 1983 after being offered the chair of molecular biology. His research has long been driven by his interest in mechanisms of gene regulation at the transcriptional level as documented by a long list of publications among these (together with Manfred Gossen) on the invention of the Tet technology in 1992. In 1995 Prof. Bujard received the “Beckurts“ award and in 1996 the “Prix Yvette Mayent”. Hermann Bujard founded TET Systems in 2003 together with Manfred Gossen and the late Wolfgang Hillen.

Manfred Gossen is co-inventor of the Tet technology. He started his studies in Bonn, Germany before moving to Heidelberg, where he joined Prof. Bujard’s research group at the Center for Molecular Biology, University of Heidelberg. During research on his PhD thesis into the use of prokaryotic transcription elements for control of gene expression in higher eukaryotes, he developed the original Tet system (Tet-Off). Together with Hermann Bujard he also contributed over the years to improvements of the available reagents which are sold by Clontech and Takara Bio Europe. Dr. Gossen currently heads the research group on Genetic Engineering at the “BCRT” in Berlin.

Kai Schönig is a former member of Prof. Bujard’s laboratory at the Center for Molecular Biology, University of Heidelberg, where he was generating several Tet transgenic mouse lines during his PhD thesis. He now is at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, where he uses the Tet technology to develop mouse and rat models to study neurological disorders.

Michael Elser has many years’ of experience in advising and troubleshooting experimental setups for Clontech’s Tet-inducible products at Takara Bio Europe. He has a PhD from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and did post-doctoral research at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France, where he worked on signalling pathways in allergy.

About TET Systems

TET Systems GmbH & Co. KG (TET Systems) is a privately held company located in Heidelberg, Germany. TET Systems was founded by Prof. Dr. H. Bujard and colleagues based on their invention of the Tet Technology, the most widely used method to control gene expression in higher organisms. TET Systems owns a broad patent portfolio covering the technology organized in six patent families comprising 41 granted patents and 13 patent applications. To date, more than 220 organizations have licensed the Tet Technology including academic institutions and research foundations. The largest group of licensees are pharmaceutical and biotech companies, with 17 of the top 20 BIG Pharma (2010) being Tet Technology licensees. For more information see www.tetsystems.com .

About Takara Bio Europe, SAS

Takara Bio Europe, SAS and Clontech Laboratories, Inc., are members of the Takara Bio Group, which develops, manufactures, and distributes a wide range of life science research reagents under the Clontech and Takara brands. Key products include the Living Colors® fluorescent proteins; high-performance qPCR and PCR reagents including the Ex Taq ™, LA Taq ™, Titanium®, and Advantage® enzymes; RT enzymes and SMART™ library construction kits; the innovative In-Fusion® cloning system and Tet-On® and Tet-Off® inducible gene expression systems. Takara Bio Europe’s highly qualified specialists not only have in‐depth knowledge of the products, but also an excellent understanding of research customers’ specific needs and applications.

See www.takara‐bio.eu and www.clontech.com for more information.

Contact:

TET Systems GmbH & Co. KG
Dr. Ernst Böhnlein
Managing Director
Phone: +49 (6221) 588 0400
boehnlein@tet-systems.com
or
Takara Bio Europe,SAS
Jean-Jacques Farhi
President
+33 (0)1 39046882
jean-jacques.farhi@takara-bio.eu