Catalytic antibodies: evolution of protein function in real time

Natural selection of enzyme function has evolved over millions to billions of years, whereas antibody induction operates over a period of weeks. If one considers how new protein functions are generated, one sees that both the immune system and natural selection have powerful methods for the generation of diversity. In this treatise we discuss antibody catalysis from an evolutionary standpoint as we consider how the elicitation of a catalytic antibody can be a useful tool for exploring the nature of biological catalysis.