Patterns of Fitness and Gene Expression Epistasis Generated by Beneficial Mutations in the rho and rpoB Genes of Escherichia coli during High-Temperature Adaptation.

ABSTRACT: Epistasis is caused by genetic interactions among mutations that affect fitness. To characterize properties and potential mechanisms of epistasis, we engineered eight double mutants that combined mutations from the rho and rpoB genes of Escherichia coli. The two genes encode essential functions for transcription, and the mutations in each gene were chosen because they were beneficial for adaptation to thermal stress (42.2 °C). The double mutants exhibited patterns of fitness epistasis that included diminishing returns epistasis at 42.2 °C, stronger diminishing returns between mutations with larger beneficial effects and both negative and positive (sign) epistasis across environments (20.0 °C and 37.0 °C). By assessing gene expression between single and double mutants, we detected hundreds

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Gonzalez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11414761 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature