Weak mutators can drive the evolution of fluoroquinolone resistance in Escherichia coli.
Weak mutators are common among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli. We show that the relative mutation rate and the "evolvability of fluoroquinolone resistance" are related by a power law slope of 1.2 over 3 orders of magnitude. Thus, even weak mutators can drive the evolution of fluoroquinolone resistance under selection pressure.
Orlén
Hanna
H
Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Center, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Hughes
Diarmaid
D
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D048168:Escherichia coli K12 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D024841:Fluoroquinolones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009154:Mutation
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D024841:Fluoroquinolones