TALEN is one of the most widely used tools in the field of genome editing. It 
enables gene integration and gene inactivation in a highly efficient and 
specific fashion. Although very attractive, the apparent simplicity and high 
success rate of TALEN could be misleading for novices in the field of gene 
editing. Depending on the application, specific TALEN designs, activity 
assessments and screening strategies need to be adopted. Here we report 
different methods to efficiently perform TALEN-mediated gene integration and 
inactivation in different mammalian cell systems including induced pluripotent 
stem cells and delineate experimental examples associated with these approaches.