Evolutionary Adaptation of an RNA Bacteriophage to Repeated Freezing and Thawing Cycles.

ABSTRACT: Bacteriophage fitness is determined by factors influencing both their replication within bacteria and their ability to maintain infectivity between infections. The latter becomes particularly crucial under adverse environmental conditions or when host density is low. In such scenarios, the damage experienced by viral particles could lead to the loss of infectivity, which might be mitigated if the virus undergoes evolutionary optimization through replication. In this study, we conducted an evolution experiment involving bacteriophage Qβ, wherein it underwent 30 serial transfers, each involving a cycle of freezing and thawing followed by replication of the surviving viruses. Our findings show that Qβ was capable of enhancing its resistance to this selective pressure through various adaptive

SUBMITTER: Laguna-Castro M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11084849 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature