Protein engineering with biosynthesized libraries from Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteriophage

Phage display offers a powerful approach to engineer protein affinity. A naturally occurring analog to phage display, the Bordetella bronchiseptica bacteriophage (BP) employs a highly variable protein termed the major tropism determinant (Mtd) to recognize its dynamic host. Propagation of BP provides a self-made phage library (SMPL) with vast numbers of phage particles, each displaying a single Mtd variant. We report applying the diversity of the BP-SMPL to access a tyrosine-rich library of Mtd variants. Expression of the SMPL-engineered Mtd variant as a GST-bound fusion protein demonstrated specific binding to the target T4 lysozyme with dissociation constants in the sub-micromolar range. The results guide future experiments with SMPLs applied to protein engineering.