"Revolution based on evolution" rewarded by Nobel chemistry | Science

Three scientists who put the evolution to work in the lab won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018.

Frances Arnold of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena received half of the $ 1 million award for her work on "directed evolution" of enzymes, proteins that catalyze specific chemical reactions . Enzymes resulting from his research have led to the development of new methods of manufacturing essential pharmaceuticals and more environmentally friendly processes for the manufacture of industrial chemicals. George Smith of the University of Missouri in Columbia and Gregory Winter of the Molecular Biology Laboratory of the Medical Research Council of Cambridge, UK, share the other half of the award for their research on the subject. directed evolution of antibodies, proteins used by the immune system recognize invaders. Their discoveries have allowed the large scale production of specific antibodies, which have made possible new treatments for autoimmune diseases, cancer and other conditions.

"This year's award in chemistry rewards a revolution based on evolution," said Claes Gustafsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, this morning. "Our laureates have applied Darwin's principles in test tubes and have used this approach to develop new types of chemicals for the greater benefit of humanity."

In the 1990s, Arnold was the first to demonstrate how to use directed evolution to produce new enzymes. His team would start with an enzyme that exists in nature and isolate the gene that codes for it. Then they used different techniques to introduce mutations into the gene and reinsert the new variants into bacteria. The bacteria would produce a variety of new enzymes, which researchers have selected to determine the desired qualities, such as the ability to work faster or in harsh conditions, such as high temperatures or the presence of chemicals. They collected the bacteria that produced the desired enzymes and started all over again, looking for an even better enzyme.

Using this method, researchers have been able to produce enzymes that catalyze reactions that do not occur in nature. This has led to the development of, for example, new types of plant-derived fuels, new processes for the manufacture of industrial chemicals free of toxic metals and organic solvents, as well as new pharmaceuticals.

"I can change everything that is encoded in DNA," said Arnold – the first woman and the eighth living scientist to be elected in the three national academies of the United States. Science in 2008. "The evolution algorithm fits all in biology, it does not exist in other areas."

Our laureates applied Darwin's principles in test tubes and used this approach to develop new types of chemicals for the benefit of humanity.

At the same time, Smith developed in 1985 "an elegant method called phage display, in which a bacteriophage – a virus that infects bacteria – can be used to develop new proteins," wrote the Swedish Academy of Sciences. in a press release published this morning. Gregory Winter used phage display for the directed evolution of antibodies for the purpose of producing new pharmaceuticals.The first one based on this method, adalimumab, was approved in 2002 and is Used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease., phage display has produced antibodies capable of neutralizing toxins, fighting autoimmune diseases and curing metastatic cancer. "

The award "marvelously recognizes the power to exploit the evolution of proteins to solve a wide range of problems in molecular sciences," said David Liu, chemist and evolution expert directed at Harvard University's Cambridge, Massachusetts. "My congratulations to Smith, Winter and Arnold for their contributions to this multidisciplinary field that seamlessly integrates chemistry, molecular biology and protein science."

"At first glance, it may seem like the Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been" biologized. "It's sometimes hard to see how much an enzyme, or a phage, is a" chemistry "- but they are! Oliver Jones, a chemist at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, said in a statement distributed by the UK Media Media Center. "Chemistry underlies many things in our lives, even if it is not always obvious and it is good that these discoveries are recognized. "

With report by Robert F. Service. This story will be updated.