Enhancement of sortase A-mediated protein ligation by inducing a β-hairpin structure around the ligation site.

A Staphylococcus aureus transpeptidase, sortase A (SrtA), catalyzes selective peptide/protein ligations that have been applied to cell imaging and protein engineering, while the ligations do not proceed to completion due to their reversibility. We successfully enhanced SrtA-mediated protein ligation through the formation of a β-hairpin around the ligation site.