Directed evolution of industrial enzymes

Directed evolution has emerged in just a few years as one of the most effective approaches to adapting biocatalysts to the performance requirements of industrial and medical applications. Directed evolution mimics the processes of Darwinian evolution in a test tube, combining random mutagenesis and/or recombination with screening or selection for enzyme variants that have the desired properties1. A recent conference* that convened practitioners from industry and academia surveyed current efforts and highlighted the rapid progress the field has enjoyed. In addition to impressive demonstrations of enzyme engineering, there were a variety of challenging problems and approaches to laboratory evolution.