Peptide-Guided Assembly of Repeat Protein Fragments

Herein, we present the peptide-guided assembly of complementary fragments of designed armadillo repeat proteins (dArmRPs) to create proteins that bind peptides not only with high affinity but also with good selectivity. We recently demonstrated that complementary N- and C-terminal fragments of dArmRPs form high-affinity complexes that resemble the structure of the full-length protein, and that these complexes bind their target peptides. We now demonstrate that dArmRPs can be split such that the fragments assemble only in the presence of a templating peptide, and that fragment mixtures enrich the combination with the highest affinity for this peptide. The enriched fragment combination discriminates single amino acid variations in the target peptide with high specificity. Our results suggest novel opportunities for the generation of new peptide binders by selection from dArmRP fragment mixtures.