This new volume of Methods in Enzymology continues the legacy of this premier serial with quality chapters authored by leaders in the field. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Methods in Enzymology series
Directed evolution comprises two distinct steps that are typically applied in an iterative fashion: (1) generating molecular diversity and (2) finding among the ensemble of mutant sequences those proteins that perform the desired fu- tion according to the specified criteria. In many ways, the second step is the most challenging. No matter how cleverly designed or diverse the starting library, without an effective screening strategy the ability to isolate useful clones is severely diminished. The best screens are (1) high throughput, to increase the likelihood that useful clones will be found; (2) sufficiently sen- tive (i. e. , good signal to noise) to allow the isolation of lower activity clones early in evolution; (3) sufficiently reproducible to allow one to find small improvements; (4) robust, which means that the signal afforded by active clones is not dependent on difficult-to-control environmental variables; and, most importantly, (5) sensitive to the desired function. Regarding this last point, almost anyone who has attempted a directed evolution experiment has learned firsthand the truth of the dictum “you get what you screen for. ” The protocols in Directed Enzyme Evolution describe a series of detailed p- cedures of proven utility for directed evolution purposes. The volume begins with several selection strategies for enzyme evolution and continues with assay methods that can be used to screen enzyme libraries. Genetic selections offer the advantage that functional proteins can be isolated from very large libraries s- ply by growing a population of cells under selective conditions.
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of enzyme engineering, from fundamental principles through to the state-of-the-art in research and industrial applications. It begins with a brief history, describing the milestones of advancement in enzyme science and technology, before going on to cover the fundamentals of enzyme chemistry, the biosynthesis of enzymes and their production. Enzyme stability and the reaction kinetics during enzymatic reactions are presented to show how enzymes function during catalysis and the factors that affect their activity. Methods to improve enzyme performance are also presented, such as cofactor regeneration and enzyme immobilization. The book emphasizes and elaborates on the performance and characteristics of enzymes at the molecular level. Finally, the book presents recent advances in enzyme engineering and some key industrial application of enzymes addressing the present needs of society. This book presents essential information not only for undergraduate and graduate students, but also for researchers in academia and industry, providing a valuable reference for the development of commercial applications of enzyme technology.
This book provides guidance to those wishing to create enzyme variants. It covers such topics as a simple method for generating site-specific mutations within bacterial chromosomes and the engineering of two difference types of rare-cutting endonucleases.
This reference book originates from the interdisciplinary research cooperation between academia and industry. In three distinct parts, latest results from basic research on stable enzymes are explained and brought into context with possible industrial applications. Downstream processing technology as well as biocatalytic and biotechnological production processes from global players display the enormous potential of biocatalysts. Application of "extreme" reaction conditions (i.e. unconventional, such as high temperature, pressure, and pH value) - biocatalysts are normally used within a well defined process window - leads to novel synthetic effects. Both novel enzyme systems and the synthetic routes in which they can be applied are made accessible to the reader. In addition, the complementary innovative process technology under unconventional conditions is highlighted by latest examples from biotech industry.
A one-stop reference that reviews protein design strategies to applications in industrial and medical biotechnology Protein Engineering: Tools and Applications is a comprehensive resource that offers a systematic and comprehensive review of the most recent advances in the field, and contains detailed information on the methodologies and strategies behind these approaches. The authors—noted experts on the topic—explore the distinctive advantages and disadvantages of the presented methodologies and strategies in a targeted and focused manner that allows for the adaptation and implementation of the strategies for new applications. The book contains information on the directed evolution, rational design, and semi-rational design of proteins and offers a review of the most recent applications in industrial and medical biotechnology. This important book: Covers technologies and methodologies used in protein engineering Includes the strategies behind the approaches, designed to help with the adaptation and implementation of these strategies for new applications Offers a comprehensive and thorough treatment of protein engineering from primary strategies to applications in industrial and medical biotechnology Presents cutting edge advances in the continuously evolving field of protein engineering Written for students and professionals of bioengineering, biotechnology, biochemistry, Protein Engineering: Tools and Applications offers an essential resource to the design strategies in protein engineering and reviews recent applications.
This book focuses on some of the most significant advances in enzyme engineering that have been achieved through directed evolution and hybrid approaches. On the 25th anniversary of the discovery of directed evolution, this volume is a tribute to the pioneers of this thrilling research field, and at the same time provides a comprehensive overview of current research and the state of the art. Directed molecular evolution has become the most reliable and robust method to tailor enzymes, metabolic pathways or even whole microorganisms with improved traits. By mirroring the Darwinian algorithm of natural selection on a laboratory scale, new biomolecules of invaluable biotechnological interest can now be engineered in a manner that surpasses the boundaries of nature. The volume is divided into two sections, the first of which provides an update on recent successful cases of enzyme ensembles from different areas of the biotechnological spectrum, including tryptophan synthases, unspecific peroxygenases, phytases, therapeutic enzymes, stereoselective enzymes and CO2-fixing enzymes. This section also provides information on the directed evolution of whole cells. The second section of the book summarizes a variety of the most applicable methods for library creation, together with the future trends aimed at bringing together directed evolution and in silico/computational enzyme design and ancestral resurrection.
Biological systems are very special substrates for engineering—uniquely the products of evolution, they are easily redesigned by similar approaches. A simple algorithm of iterative cycles of diversification and selection, evolution works at all scales, from single molecules to whole ecosystems. In the little more than a decade since the first reported applications of evolutionary design to enzyme engineering, directed evolution has matured to the point where it now represents the centerpiece of industrial biocatalyst development and is being practiced by thousands of academic and industrial scientists in com- nies and universities around the world. The appeal of directed evolution is easy to understand: it is conceptually straightforward, it can be practiced without any special instrumentation and, most important, it frequently yields useful solutions, many of which are totally unanticipated. Directed evolution has r- dered protein engineering readily accessible to a broad audience of scientists and engineers who wish to tailor a myriad of protein properties, including th- mal and solvent stability, enzyme selectivity, specific activity, protease s- ceptibility, allosteric control of protein function, ligand binding, transcriptional activation, and solubility. Furthermore, the range of applications has expanded to the engineering of more complex functions such as those performed by m- tiple proteins acting in concert (in biosynthetic pathways) or as part of mac- molecular complexes and biological networks.
Six years after the symposium on Stability and Stabilization of Enzymes, a second symposium, Stability and Stabilization of Biocatalysts, on which this book is based, was organized. At the symposium, 210 participants representing all continents came together to learn from 150 oral and poster communications. The volume brings up-to-date the work already going on, and identifies possible breakthroughs in the research. This timely book therefore presents cutting edge developments in topics such as non-covalent processes in solution, protein engineering and thermophile enzymes, immobilized enzymes, non-conventional media, and whole cells. An excellent addition to the available literature, it will make a useful contribution to this key area of applied biocatalysis.