Directed evolution is an approach to evolving enzymes and proteins more generally with novel functions or properties in the laboratory. It typically combines in silico modeling with in vitro data. Related to evolution.
Notes
- Estimates for the minimum number of mutations that are required to improve catalytic activity range from five mutations for 10x (1) to ten mutations for 1000x (2). The latter authors say that most of these “occur outside catalytic pocket and are likely to affect activity only indirectly by enhancing tolerance to function-enhancing mutations.”
See also
1.
Goldsmith M, Tawfik DS. Enzyme engineering: reaching the maximal catalytic efficiency peak. Current Opinion in Structural Biology. 2017;47:140–50. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbi.2017.09.002
2.
Khersonsky O, Lipsh R, Avizemer Z, Ashani Y, Goldsmith M, Leader H, et al. Automated Design of Efficient and Functionally Diverse Enzyme Repertoires. Molecular Cell. 2018;72(1):178-186.e5. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcel.2018.08.033