DIRECTED EVOLUTION OF TRYPSIN INHIBITING PEPTIDES USING A GENETIC ALGORITHM

A new strategy which employs a process of directed evolution in the se arch for molecules exhibiting certain desirable properties is reported . By repeating a cycle of peptide synthesis, evaluation of the trypsin inhibitory activities of these peptides and subsequent selection and transformation based on a genetic algorithm, it is possible artificial ly to induce the evolution of a family of peptides and improve their b iological activities. Commencing with a set of 24 randomly generated h exapeptides, a progressive improvement from 16 to 50% average inhibito ry activity over six generations, with maximum activities of 80-90% is observed. The emergence of consensus sequences which concur with thos e previously generated using peptide libraries is also observed.