US Patent 11834665 Programmable transcription factors and methods

This disclosure describes a programmable transcription factor system. Generally, the system includes a programmable transcription factor, a polynucleotide that includes a coding region whose expression is either required or toxic for cell viability, and a promoter operably linked to the polynucleotide and having a binding site for the programmable transcription factor. The programmable transcription factor generally includes a domain that specifically binds to a promoter and a domain that either activates transcription (if the polynucleotide encodes an essential product) or represses transcription (if the polynucleotide encodes a toxic product).