The genetic basis of the fitness costs of antimicrobial resistance: a meta-analysis approach.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of antibiotic resistance carries a fitness cost, expressed in terms of reduced competitive ability in the absence of antibiotics. This cost plays a key role in the dynamics of resistance by generating selection against resistance when bacteria encounter an antibiotic-free environment. Previous work has shown that the cost of resistance is highly variable, but the underlying causes remain poorly understood. Here, we use a meta-analysis of the published resistance literature to determine how the genetic basis of resistance influences its cost. We find that on average chromosomal resistance mutations carry a larger cost than acquiring resistance via a plasmid. This may explain why resistance often evolves by plasmid acquisition. Second, we find that the cost of plasmid acquisiti

SUBMITTER: Vogwill T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4380922 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature