Metabolite toxicity determines the pace of molecular evolution within microbial populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The production of toxic metabolites has shaped the spatial and temporal arrangement of metabolic processes within microbial cells. While diverse solutions to mitigate metabolite toxicity have evolved, less is known about how evolution itself is affected by metabolite toxicity. We hypothesized that the pace of molecular evolution should increase as metabolite toxicity increases. At least two mechanisms could cause this. First, metabolite toxicity could increase the mutation rate. Second, metabolite toxicity could increase the number of available mutations with large beneficial effects that selection could act upon (e.g., mutations that provide tolerance to toxicity), which consequently would increase the rate at which those mutations increase in frequency.

Results

SUBMITTER: Lilja EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5310025 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature