The amino acid sequence of a protein affects both its structure and its function. Thus, the
ability to modify the sequence, and hence the structure and activity, of individual proteins in …

The past several years have seen novel insights at the interface of protein biophysics and
evolution. The accepted paradigm that proteins can tolerate nearly any amino acid …

Error s in protein synthesis disrupt cellular fitness, cause disease phenotypes and shape
gene and genome evolution. Experimental and theoretical results on this topic have …

Most protein mutations, and mutations that alter protein functions in particular, undermine
stability and are therefore deleterious. Chaperones, or heat-shock proteins, are often …

For decades, rates of protein evolution have been interpreted in terms of the vague concept
of functional importance. Slowly evolving proteins or sites within proteins were assumed to …

Naturally evolving proteins gradually accumulate mutations while continuing to fold to stable
structures. This process of neutral evolution is an important mode of genetic change and …

When we seek to explain the characteristics of living systems in their evolutionary context,
we are often interested in understanding how and why certain properties arose through …

Background An important question is whether evolution favors properties such as mutational
robustness or evolvability that do not directly benefit any individual, but can influence the …

The introduction of extended-spectrum cephalosporins and β-lactamase inhibitors has
driven the evolution of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) that possess the ability to …

Adaptive mutations play an important role in molecular evolution. However, the frequency
and nature of these mutations at the intramolecular level are poorly understood. To address …