Ligand engineering using yeast surface display

The genotype–phenotype linkage provided by display technologies enables efficient synthesis, analysis, and selection of combinatorial protein libraries. This approach tremendously expands the protein sequence space that can be efficiently evaluated for a selectable function. It thereby provides a key element in identification and directed evolution of novel or improved protein function. Here, yeast surface display is described in the context of selection for binding function. Yeast culture and multiple approaches to magnetic-and fluorescence-based protein selection are presented in detail.