Protein function evolution combinatorial methods

In nature, enzymes play an important role in the survival and reproduction of their source organism. Therefore, many enzymes in their natural form are not suitable for application directly as biocatalysts in bioprocessing. For example, most enzymes are active at relatively mild conditions, thus may not be viable under the harsher conditions encountered in most indnstrial production systems. Various methods have been used to improve the properties of enzymes, including selectivity, activity and thermostability, in order to enable them to function as efficient industrial biocatalysts. Enzyme engineering, which encompasses rational design and directed evolution, is an efficient method to improve enzyme properties. Rational design seeks for beneficial mutations or protein sequences by applying empirically derived rules or theoretical models. Meanwhile, directed evolution uses a combinatorial approach to create libraries of enzymes from which enhanced variants can be identified... 

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