title: Recent progress in biocatalyst discovery and optimization.
abstract: The use of enzymes in industrial catalysis continues to grow because of the considerable advantages of natural catalytic systems. The need for enantiomerically pure fine chemicals and the movement away from chemically burdened technologies will drive the acceptance of enzyme-assisted processes. New technologies for enzyme discovery and optimization have enabled the application of enzymes in harsh industrial conditions and in processes demanding stringent selectivity. These discovery and laboratory evolution methods entail genomic approaches that by their nature engender screening of extremely large numbers of gene types and variants. By extension, the fitness of an individual high-throughput screen requires an intelligent, process-targeted assay amenable to a chosen screening platform.
authors.affiliation: Diversa Corporation, San Diego, CA 92121, USA. drobertson@diversa.com
authors.forename: Dan E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: Brian A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Steer
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000639:trends*; D002384:Catalysis; D004795:Enzyme Stability; D004798:Enzymes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression; D015723:Gene Library; D023281:Genomics; D016296:Mutagenesis; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes