A targeting construct was designed to insert a loxP-flanked neomycin (neo) resistance cassette upstream of exon 4 of the gene. A missense mutation R106W found in humans carrying the neurological disorder Rett Syndrome (RTT) was introduced to exon 3. A 23 amino acid Tavi tag, allowing MeCP2 protein to be biotinylated in the presence of E. coli biotin ligase, BirA, was introduced immediately upstream of Mecp2 stop codon. Cre-mediated recombination removed the upstream floxed neo cassette. (J:251147)