title: Targeted metagenomics unveils the molecular basis for adaptive evolution of enzymes to their environment.
abstract: Microorganisms have a wonderful ability to adapt rapidly to new or altered environmental conditions. Enzymes are the basis of metabolism in all living organisms and, therefore, enzyme adaptation plays a crucial role in the adaptation of microorganisms. Comparisons of homology and parallel beneficial mutations in an enzyme family provide valuable hints of how an enzyme adapted to an ecological system; consequently, a series of enzyme collections is required to investigate enzyme evolution. Targeted metagenomics is a promising tool for the construction of enzyme pools and for studying the adaptive evolution of enzymes. This perspective article presents a summary of targeted metagenomic approaches useful for this purpose.
authors.affiliation: Bioproduction Research Institute - National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) Tsukuba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hikaru
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suenaga
keywords: directed evolution; environmental microbiology; enzyme adaptation; high-throughput screening; targeted metagenomics