Evolutionary Rescue and Drug Resistance on Multicopy Plasmids.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria often carry "extra DNA" in the form of plasmids in addition to their chromosome. Many plasmids have a copy number greater than one such that the genes encoded on these plasmids are present in multiple copies per cell. This has evolutionary consequences by increasing the mutational target size, by prompting the (transitory) co-occurrence of mutant and wild-type alleles within the same cell, and by allowing for gene dosage effects. We develop and analyze a mathematical model for bacterial adaptation to harsh environmental change if adaptation is driven by beneficial alleles on multicopy plasmids. Successful adaptation depends on the availability of advantageous alleles and on their establishment probability. The establishment process involves the segregation of mutant and wild-type

SUBMITTER: Santer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7337077 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature