Likelihood of Success
The likelihood of success in a directed evolution experiment is directly related to the total library size, as evaluating more mutants increases the chances of finding one with the desired properties. Performing multiple rounds of evolution is useful not only because a new library of mutants is created in each round, but because each new library uses better mutants as templates. The experiment is analogous to climbing a hill on a landscape where elevation is a function of the desired property. The goal is to reach the summit, which represents the best mutant. Each round of selection samples mutants on all sides of the starting template and selects the mutant with the highest elevation, thereby climbing the hill. A new round samples mutants on all sides of this new template and picks the highest of these, and so on until the summit is reached.
Read more about this topic: Directed Evolution
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