title: Directed enzyme evolution and selections for catalysis based on product formation.
abstract: Enzyme engineering by molecular modelling and site-directed mutagenesis can be remarkably efficient. Directed enzyme evolution appears as a more general strategy for the isolation of catalysts as it can be applied to most chemical reactions in aqueous solutions. Selections, as opposed to screening, allow the simultaneous analysis of protein properties for sets of up to about 10(14) different proteins. These approaches for the parallel processing of molecular information 'Is the protein a catalyst?' are reviewed here in the case of selections based on the formation of a specific reaction product. Several questions are addressed about in vivo and in vitro selections for catalysis reported in the literature. Can the selection system be extended to other types of enzymes? Does the selection control regio- and stereo-selectivity? Does the selection allow the isolation of enzymes with an efficient turnover? How should substrates be substituted or mimicked for the design of efficient selections while minimising the number of chemical synthesis steps? Engineering sections provide also some clues to design selections or to circumvent selection biases. A special emphasis is put on the comparison of in vivo and in vitro selections for catalysis.
authors.affiliation: Département de Biologie Structurale et Chimie, Unité de Chimie Organique URA 2128 CNRS, Institut Pasteur, 28 rue du Dr. Roux, 75724 Paris 15, France. jjestin@pasteur.fr
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jestin
authors.forename: Pierre Alexandre
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kaminski
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D004798:Enzymes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed; D015202:Protein Engineering / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004798:Enzymes