Evolutionary mechanism as a template for protein engineering

The goal of a protein engineer is to adjust a protein to a specified new function. This is exactly what natural evolution has achieved many times. By studying evolutionary mechanisms, we can learn about ways to use the adaptability of proteins and to build new proteins. In fact, many techniques used in engineering are successfully mimicking evolutionary processes. We introduce the fundamental evolutionary mechanisms, take a closer look at duplication and fusion, recombination, and circular permutation and discuss their influence on protein engineering. Some important techniques are presented and illustrated with examples.