title: Engineering proteins that bind, move, make and break DNA.
abstract: Recent protein engineering efforts have generated artificial transcription factors that bind new target DNA sequences and enzymes that modify DNA at new target sites. Zinc-finger-based transcription factors are favored targets for design; important technological advances in their construction and numerous biotechnological applications have been reported. Other notable advances include the generation of endonucleases and recombinases with altered specificities, made by innovative combinatorial and evolutionary protein engineering strategies. An unexpectedly high tolerance to mutation in the active sites of DNA polymerases is being exploited to engineer polymerases to incorporate artificial nucleotides or to display other, nonnatural activities.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, California Institute of Technology, mail code 210-41, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yokobayashi
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Umeno
authors.forename: Frances H
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Arnold
mesh_terms: D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004798:Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019077:Helix-Turn-Helix Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011485:Protein Binding; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D045522:Recombinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016335:Zinc Fingers / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D004798:Enzymes; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D045522:Recombinases; D004247:DNA; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes