In vivo hypermutation and continuous evolution

Directed evolution has revolutionized bimolecular engineering by applying cycles of mutation, amplification and selection to genes of interest (GOIs). However, classical directed evolution methods that rely on manually staged evolutionary cycles constrain the scale and depth of the evolutionary search that is possible. We describe genetic systems that achieve cycles of rapid mutation, amplification and selection fully inside living cells, enabling the continuous evolution of GOIs as cells grow. These systems advance the scale, evolutionary search depth, ease and overall power of directed evolution and access important new areas of protein evolution and engineering.

Automated summary

By achieving rapid cycles of mutation, amplification, and selection fully inside living cells, genetic systems have advanced the scale, depth, and overall power of directed evolution, accessing important new areas of protein evolution and engineering.