With the rapid development of powerful protein evolution and enzyme-screening technologies, there is a growing belief that optimum conditions for biotransformation processes can be established without the constraints of the properties of the biocatalyst. These technologies can then be applied to find the ‘ideal biocatalyst’ for the process. In identifying the ideal biocatalyst, the processes of gene discovery and enzyme evolution play major roles. However, in order to expand the pool genes for in vitro evolution, new technologies, which circumvent the limitations of microbial culturability, must be applied. These technologies, which currently include metagenomic library screening, gene-specific amplification methods and even full metagenomic sequencing, provide access to a volume of ‘sequence space’ that is not addressed by traditional screening.
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April 2004
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Conference Article|
April 01 2004
Metagenomics, gene discovery and the ideal biocatalyst
D.A. Cowan;
D.A. Cowan
1
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail dcowan@uwc.ac.za).
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A. Arslanoglu;
A. Arslanoglu
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
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S.G. Burton;
S.G. Burton
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
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G.C. Baker;
G.C. Baker
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
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R.A. Cameron;
R.A. Cameron
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
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J.J. Smith;
J.J. Smith
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
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Q. Meyer
Q. Meyer
Advanced Research Centre for Applied Microbiology, Department of Biotechnology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, Cape Town, South Africa
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2004 Biochemical Society
2004
Biochem Soc Trans (2004) 32 (2): 298–302.
Citation
D.A. Cowan, A. Arslanoglu, S.G. Burton, G.C. Baker, R.A. Cameron, J.J. Smith, Q. Meyer; Metagenomics, gene discovery and the ideal biocatalyst. Biochem Soc Trans 1 April 2004; 32 (2): 298–302. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bst0320298
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