• A Primer for Directed Evolution • Methods for Directed Evolution • Applications of Directed Evolution • Conclusions and Future Prospects Directed Evolution: Novel and Improved Enzymes Fei Wen∗, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois Michael McLachlan∗, Center for Biophysics and Computational Biology, University of Illi...

Very little is known about the evolvability of lead peptides that are isolated from small library screens. Here we begin to explore this question by comparing the directed evolution of two peptides previously isolated from a small library screen to new ligands generated de novo by in vitro selection.

Naturally occurring enzymes are remarkable biocatalysts with numerous potential applications in industry and medicine. However, many of their catalyst properties often need to be further tailored to meet the specific requirements of a given application. Within this context, directed evolution has emerged over the past decade as a powerful tool for engineering enzymes with new or improved functi...

The directed evolution of ancestral -resurrected- enzymes can give a new twist in protein engineering approaches towards more versatile and robust biocatalysts.

Directed evolution is being used increasingly in industrial and academic laboratories to modify and improve commercially important enzymes. Laboratory evolution is thought to make its biggest contribution in explorations of non-natural functions, by allowing us to distinguish the properties nurtured by evolution. In this review we report the significant advances achieved with respect to the met...

The effective catalytic properties of enzymes have already promoted their introduction into several industrial products and processes. Recent developments in biotechnology, particularly in areas such as protein engineering and directed evolution, have provided important tools for the efficient development of new enzymes. This has resulted in the development of enzymes with improved properties f...

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The field of directed, in vitro evolution uses biological machinery to develop nucleic acid and peptide oligomers that bind to molecular targets, some of which are important for therapeutic applications1,2. The advantage of this approach over traditional small molecule–based medicinal chemistry is based in part on the number of molecules that may be screened: in vitro evolution can screen upwar...

Biocatalysis has emerged as a great addition to traditional chemical processes for production of bulk chemicals and pharmaceuticals. To overcome the limitations of naturally occurring enzymes, directed evolution has become the most important tool for improving critical traits of biocatalysts such as thermostability, activity, selectivity, and tolerance towards organic solvents for industrial ap...