A novel ADP- and zinc-binding fold from function-directed in vitro evolution
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Updated: Aug 25, 2026

In Vitro Directed Evolution of a Restriction Endonuclease with More Stringent Specificity
Published on: March 25, 2020
Paola Lo Surdo1, Martin A Walsh, Maurizio Sollazzo
1Istituto di Ricerche di Biologia Molecolare (IRBM), Via Pontina Km 30.600, 00040 Pomezia, Roma, Italy. paola_losurdo@merck.com
Abstract:
A great challenge to biologists is to create proteins with novel folds and tailored functions. As an alternative to de novo protein design, we investigated the structure of a randomly generated protein targeted to bind ATP. The crystal structure reveals a novel alpha/beta fold bound to its ligand, representing both the first protein structure derived from in vitro evolution and the first nucleotide-binding protein stabilized by a zinc ion.
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