ABSTRACT

While the concept of Darwin’s evolution has yet remained only a theory, its impact has led to the birth of a eld we now call directed evolution. Directed evolution, or perhaps more aptly premeditated synthetic evolution, is undertaken in the laboratory with a desired end. is, perhaps more than anything else, dierentiates contemporary directed evolution from natural evolution. Synthetic evolution is usually undertaken at the level of a single gene, which is primarily due to current technological limitations rather than constraints of its denition; although several successes have already emerged in the synthetic evolution of complete pathways and organisms [1,2]. Application of directed evolution promises to answer various industrial, medicinal, and perhaps even anthropological evolutionary questions.