Distribution of fitness effects of cross-species transformation reveals potential for fast adaptive evolution.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial transformation, a common mechanism of horizontal gene transfer, can speed up adaptive evolution. How its costs and benefits depend on the growth environment is poorly understood. Here, we characterize the distributions of fitness effects (DFE) of transformation in different conditions and test whether they predict in which condition transformation is beneficial. To determine the DFEs, we generate hybrid libraries between the recipient Bacillus subtilis and different donor species and measure the selection coefficient of each hybrid strain. In complex medium, the donor Bacillus vallismortis confers larger fitness effects than the more closely related donor Bacillus spizizenii. For both donors, the DFEs show strong effect beneficial transfers, indicating potential for fast adaptive

SUBMITTER: Rathmann I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9751276 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature