General and inducible hypermutation facilitate parallel adaptation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa despite divergent mutation spectra.

ABSTRACT: The successful growth of hypermutator strains of bacteria contradicts a clear preference for lower mutation rates observed in the microbial world. Whether by general DNA repair deficiency or the inducible action of low-fidelity DNA polymerases, the evolutionary strategies of bacteria include methods of hypermutation. Although both raise mutation rate, general and inducible hypermutation operate through distinct molecular mechanisms and therefore likely impart unique adaptive consequences. Here we compare the influence of general and inducible hypermutation on adaptation in the model organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 through experimental evolution. We observed divergent spectra of single base substitutions derived from general and inducible hypermutation by sequencing rpoB in spontaneous

SUBMITTER: Weigand MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3427078 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature