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Opposing effects of final population density and stress on Escherichia coli mutation rate

Channon

Opposing effects of final population density and stress on Escherichia coli mutation rate Thumbnail


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Abstract

Evolution depends on mutations. For an individual genotype, the rate at which mutations arise is known to increase with various stressors (stress-induced mutagenesis-SIM) and decrease at high final population density (density-associated mutation-rate plasticity-DAMP). We hypothesised that these two forms of mutation-rate plasticity would have opposing effects across a nutrient gradient. Here we test this hypothesis, culturing Escherichia coli in increasingly rich media. We distinguish an increase in mutation rate with added nutrients through SIM (dependent on error-prone polymerases Pol IV and Pol V) and an opposing effect of DAMP (dependent on MutT, which removes oxidised G nucleotides). The combination of DAMP and SIM results in a mutation rate minimum at intermediate nutrient levels (which can support 7?×?108?cells?ml-1). These findings demonstrate a strikingly close and nuanced relationship of ecological factors-stress and population density-with mutation, the fuel of all evolution.

Acceptance Date Jun 20, 2018
Publication Date Dec 1, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal ISME Journal
Print ISSN 1751-7362
Publisher Nature Publishing Group
Pages 2981-2987
DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0237-3
Publisher URL http://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-018-0237-3

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