ADEVO: Proof-of-concept of adenovirus-directed EVOlution by random peptide display on the fiber knob.

Directed evolution of viral vectors involves the generation of randomized libraries followed by artificial selection of improved variants. Directed evolution only yielded limited results in adenovirus (AdV) engineering until now, mainly due to insufficient complexities of randomized libraries. Meanwhile, clinical applications of AdVs as gene therapy or oncolytic vectors are still hampered by the predetermined tropism of natural types.