Testing the role of genetic background in parallel evolution using the comparative experimental evolution of antibiotic resistance.

ABSTRACT: Parallel evolution is the independent evolution of the same phenotype or genotype in response to the same selection pressure. There are examples of parallel molecular evolution across divergent genetic backgrounds, suggesting that genetic background may not play an important role in determining the outcome of adaptation. Here, we measure the influence of genetic background on phenotypic and molecular adaptation by combining experimental evolution with comparative analysis. We selected for resistance to the antibiotic rifampicin in eight strains of bacteria from the genus Pseudomonas using a short term selection experiment. Adaptation occurred by 47 mutations at conserved sites in rpoB, the target of rifampicin, and due to the high diversity of possible mutations the probability of within-s

SUBMITTER: Vogwill T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4245821 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature