Hola!
I was wondering with one lab colleague about how crazy it will be to take the patent of the Bst2.0, study the mutations that they introduced in the original Bst (for the improved processivity, thermal stability, salt-resistance…) and then find an enough-distant but still related member of the Bst family and modify it with the Bst2.0 mutations.
As far I read in the patent, they only protected enzymes that are 99% equal to the 124 sequences they included, which are all related to the Bacillus stearothermophilus original Bst (As far as I blasted it).
First question, Is this possible? It seems too good to be true. It looks as an approach similar to the one taken for the MashUp retrotranscriptase (https://pipettejockey.com/2018/09/06/mashup-rt-purify-your-own-reverse-transcriptase-beta-testing-phase/).
I feel there’s still the big part of understanding what they specifically change to improve the original Bst, but I am up to do it in my spare time together with whoever wants to join.