Contribution of silent mutations to thermal adaptation of RNA bacteriophage Qβ.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

Changes in protein function and other biological properties, such as RNA structure, are crucial for adaptation of organisms to novel or inhibitory environments. To investigate how mutations that do not alter amino acid sequence may be positively selected, we performed a thermal adaptation experiment using the single-stranded RNA bacteriophage Qβ in which the culture temperature was increased from 37.2°C to 41.2°C and finally to an inhibitory temperature of 43.6°C in a stepwise manner in three independent lines. Whole-genome analysis revealed 31 mutations, including 14 mutations that did not result in amino acid sequence alterations, in this thermal adaptation. Eight of the 31 mutations were observed in all three lines. Reconstruction and fitness analyses of Qβ strains co

SUBMITTER: Kashiwagi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4178783 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature