 Techniques that rely on homologous recombination have been used to engineer new proteins . In a study published in 2007 , researchers were able to create chimeras of two enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of isoprenoids , a diverse class of compounds including hormones , visual pigments and certain pheromones . The chimeric proteins acquired an ability to catalyze an essential reaction in isoprenoid biosynthesis — one of the most diverse pathways of biosynthesis found in nature — that was absent in the parent proteins . Protein engineering through recombination has also produced chimeric enzymes with new function in members of a group of proteins known as the cytochrome P450 family , which in humans is involved in detoxifying foreign compounds like drugs , food additives and preservatives . 
