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Evolution of high mutation rates in experimental populations of E. coli

Nature volume 387, pages 703–705 (1997)Cite this article

Abstract

Most mutations are likely to be deleterious, and so the spontaneous mutation rate is generally held at a very low value1. Nonetheless, evolutionary theory predicts that high mutation rates can evolve under certain circumstances2,3,4. Empirical observations have previously been limited to short-term studies of the fates of mutator strains deliberately introduced into laboratory populations of Escherichia coli5,6,7, and to the effects of intense selective events on mutator frequencies in E. coli8. Here we report the rise of spontaneously originated mutators in populations of E. coli undergoing long-term adaptation to a new environment. Our results corroborate computer simulations of mutator evolution in adapting clonal populations4, and may help to explain observations that associate high mutation rates with emerging pathogens9 and with certain cancers10.

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Figure 1: Rates of mutation in 12 Ara− and Ara+ experimental populations (A − 1 to A− 6 and A+ 1 to A+ 6) at 10,000 generations and in their common ancestors REL606 (Ara−) and REL607 (Ara+).
Figure 2
Figure 3: Mutation rates to nalidixic-acid resistance in 10,000-generation isolates from populations Ara+3, Ara−4 and Ara−2 and ancestor REL606 transformed with plasmids bearing wild-type alleles of seven known general mutator loci.

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Acknowledgements

We thank F. Taddei for sharing data before publicaiton; C. Zeyl for permission to cite unpublished data; A. White for help with statistical analyses; B. Bohannan, L. Ekunwe and P. Frank for technical assistance; T. Cebula, S. F. Elena, D. G. MacPhee, J. Mongold and M. Travisano for discussions; and H. Maki and J. E. LeClerc for plasmids. Supported by the US NSF and by the Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. *Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Paul D. Sniegowski

  2. †Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, 48824, Michigan, USA

    Philip J. Gerrish & Richard E. Lenski

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  1. Paul D. Sniegowski
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Correspondence to Paul D. Sniegowski.

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Sniegowski, P., Gerrish, P. & Lenski, R. Evolution of high mutation rates in experimental populations of E. coli. Nature 387, 703–705 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/42701

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