Directed evolution
Directed evolution is a bioengineering approach for modifying the properties of biomolecules. Inspired by Darwinism, directed evolution employs an accelerated cycle of genetic diversification (mutation) and subsequent isolation improved mutants (selection). This iterative process allows for the retrieval of genetic variants with improved performance for desired tasks and operational conditions, both of which can be simply dictated by the experimenter. Critical factors that determine the outcome of directed evolution efforts are the availability of high-quality mutant libraries and robust methods to assess large numbers of individual variants (i.e. screening), the latter of which represents an important limiting factor of directed evolution.
In the Bioprocess Laboratory, we address these challenges of directed evolution by developing novel in vivo and in vitro methods for diversity generation and high-throughput screening or selection. Moreover, we apply directed evolution to endow biological systems with new-to-nature functions ranging from individual components(peptides, proteins, enzymes etc.) to more complex systems (pathways, organisms).
