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Volume 170, Issue 4

Environmental and genetic influence on the rate and spectrum of spontaneous mutations in Open Access

Abstract

Spontaneous mutations are the ultimate source of novel genetic variation on which evolution operates. Although mutation rate is often discussed as a single parameter in evolution, it comprises multiple distinct types of changes at the level of DNA. Moreover, the rates of these distinct changes can be independently influenced by genomic background and environmental conditions. Using fluctuation tests, we characterized the spectrum of spontaneous mutations in grown in low and high glucose environments. These conditions are known to affect the rate of spontaneous mutation in wild-type MG1655, but not in a Δ deletant strain – a gene with roles in both quorum sensing and the recycling of methylation products used in ’s DNA repair process. We find an increase in AT>GC transitions in the low glucose environment, suggesting that processes relating to the production or repair of this mutation could drive the response of overall mutation rate to glucose concentration. Interestingly, this increase in AT>GC transitions is maintained by the glucose non-responsive Δ deletant. Instead, an elevated rate of GC>TA transversions, more common in a high glucose environment, leads to a net non-responsiveness of overall mutation rate for this strain. Our results show how relatively subtle changes, such as the concentration of a carbon substrate or loss of a regulatory gene, can substantially influence the amount and nature of genetic variation available to selection.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): activated methyl cycle , antibiotic resistance , DNA repair , fluctuation assay , mutation rate , mutational spectrum and rifampicin
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Wellcome Trust (Award 204796/Z/16/Z)
    • Principle Award Recipient: NotApplicable
  • UK Research and Innovation (Award MR/T021225/1)
    • Principle Award Recipient: RokKrašovec
  • UK Research and Innovation (Award MR/R024936/1)
    • Principle Award Recipient: DannaGifford
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Award BB/M011208/1)
    • Principle Award Recipient: EleanorMarshall
© 2024 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2024-04-30
2024-05-17
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Environmental and genetic influence on the rate and spectrum of spontaneous mutations in Escherichia coli
Microbiology 170, 001452 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001452
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001452
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001452
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