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Protein Engineering pp 1–12Cite as

Protein Engineering: Past, Present, and Future

Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB,volume 1685)

Abstract

The last decade has seen a dramatic increase in the utilization of enzymes as green and sustainable (bio)catalysts in pharmaceutical and industrial applications. This trend has to a significant degree been fueled by advances in scientists’ and engineers’ ability to customize native enzymes by protein engineering. A review of the literature quickly reveals the tremendous success of this approach; protein engineering has generated enzyme variants with improved catalytic activity, broadened or altered substrate specificity, as well as raised or reversed stereoselectivity. Enzymes have been tailored to retain activity at elevated temperatures and to function in the presence of organic solvents, salts and pH values far from physiological conditions. However, readers unfamiliar with the field will soon encounter the confusingly large number of experimental techniques that have been employed to accomplish these engineering feats. Herein, we use history to guide a brief overview of the major strategies for protein engineering—past, present, and future.

Key words

  • Protein engineering
  • Protein design
  • Rational design
  • Directed evolution
  • Biocatalysis

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Acknowledgments

We thank the members of the Lutz lab for helpful comments and suggestions on the manuscript. Financial support in part by the US National Science Foundation (CBET-1159434 & CBET-1546790) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Emory University, 1515 Dickey Drive, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA

    Stefan Lutz & Samantha M. Iamurri

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  1. Stefan Lutz
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  2. Samantha M. Iamurri
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Lutz .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biotechnology and Enzyme Catalysis Institute of Biochemistry, Greifswald University, Greifswald, Germany

    Uwe T. Bornscheuer

  2. Protein Biochemistry Institute of Biochemistry, Greifswald University, Greifswald, Germany

    Matthias Höhne

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Lutz, S., Iamurri, S.M. (2018). Protein Engineering: Past, Present, and Future. In: Bornscheuer, U., Höhne, M. (eds) Protein Engineering. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1685. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7366-8_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7366-8_1

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