Chapter 19 -- The Mutagenesis Assistant Program

Abstract

Mutagenesis Assistant Program (MAP) is a web-based statistical tool to develop directed evolution strategies by investigating the consequences at the amino acid level of the mutational biases of random mutagenesis methods on any given gene. The latest development of the program, the MAP(2.0)3D server, correlates the generated amino acid substitution patterns of a specific random mutagenesis method to the sequence and structural information of the target protein. The combined information can be used to select an experimental strategy that improves the chances of obtaining functionally efficient and/or stable enzyme variants. Hence, the MAP(2.0)3D server facilitates the "in silico" prescreening of the target gene by predicting the amino acid diversity generated in a random mutagenesis library. Here, we describe the features of MAP(2.0)3D server by analyzing, as an example, the cytochrome P450(BM3) monooxygenase (CYP102A1). The MAP(2.0)3D server is available publicly at http://map.jacobs-university.de/map3d.html.