Evolution and evolvability of rifampicin resistance across the bacterial tree of life.

ABSTRACT: Predicting the ability of bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance is challenging, especially for the vast majority of species for which no experimental data are available. Here, we investigated the evolvability and intrinsic presence of rifampicin resistance across the bacterial tree of life. We compiled a comprehensive panel of known rifampicin resistance mutations, comprising 57 amino acid substitutions within the gene rpoB. We then screened more than 18,000 genomes from all major bacterial groups for the presence of those mutations and determined which mutations can evolve through point mutations. Our results demonstrate that although the evolvability of individual mutations varies considerably across species, overall predicted evolvability is high and relatively homogeneous ac

SUBMITTER: Bolourchi N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12337354 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature