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Adaptive mutation inEscherichia coli strain FC40

  • Special Section: Stationary-Phase Mutations In Microorganisms
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Abstract

Mutations can arise in static populations of cells that are subjected to nonlethal selective pressure, a phenomenon that has been called ‘adaptive mutation’. This phenomenon has been extensively studied in FC40, a strain ofEscherichia coli that cannot metabolize lactose (Lac−) but that reverts to lactose utilization (Lac+) when lactose is its sole energy and carbon source. The adaptive Lac+ mutations arise by two mutational processes: a recombination-dependent process that is highly active on the episome carrying the Lac− allele, and an unknown process that affects the whole genome. Most of the Lac+ mutations are due to the first process, which also produces nonselected mutations on the F′ episome. However, about 10% of the Lac+ mutations arise in a subpopulation of cells that experience a period of transient hypermutation. Although minor contributors to any one type of mutation, the hypermutators account for nearly all cases of multiple mutations. The evolutionary implications of these results are: (i) DNA synthesis associated with recombination may be an important source of spontaneous mutation, particularly in cells that are not actively growing; (ii) the efficient mutational mechanism that occurs on the episome could result in the horizontal transfer of new alleles among species that carry and exchange conjugal plasmids; and (iii) a subpopulation of transient hypermutators could be a source of multiple mutations that would allow for rapid adaptive evolution under adverse conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 02118, Boston, MA, USA

    Patricia L. Foster & William A. Rosche

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  1. Patricia L. Foster
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  2. William A. Rosche
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Correspondence to Patricia L. Foster.

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Foster, P.L., Rosche, W.A. Adaptive mutation inEscherichia coli strain FC40. J Genet 78, 7–11 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02994697

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