Chance Favors the Prepared Genomes: Horizontal Transfer Shapes the Emergence of Antibiotic Resistance Mutations in Core Genes.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial lineages acquire novel traits at diverse rates in part because the genetic background impacts the successful acquisition of novel genes by horizontal transfer. Yet, how horizontal transfer affects the subsequent evolution of core genes remains poorly understood. Here, we studied the evolution of resistance to quinolones in Escherichia coli accounting for population structure. We found 60 groups of genes whose gain or loss induced an increase in the probability of subsequently becoming resistant to quinolones by point mutations in the gyrase and topoisomerase genes. These groups include functions known to be associated with direct mitigation of the effect of quinolones, with metal uptake, cell growth inhibition, biofilm formation, and sugar metabolism. Many of them are encoded in

SUBMITTER: Coluzzi C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10575684 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature