title: Phenotypic heterogeneity in a bacteriophage population only appears as stress-induced mutagenesis.
abstract: Stress-induced mutagenesis has been studied in cancer cells, yeast, bacteria, and archaea, but not in viruses. In a recent publication, we present a bacteriophage model showing an apparent stress-induced mutagenesis. We show that the stress does not drive the mutagenesis, but only selects the fittest mutants. The mechanism underlying the observed phenomenon is a phenotypic heterogeneity that resembles persistence of the viral population. The new findings, the background for the ongoing debate on stress-induced mutagenesis, and the phenotypic heterogeneity underlying a novel phage infection strategy are discussed in this short manuscript.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Ido
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yosef
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Rotem
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edgar
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel. ehudq@post.tau.ac.il.
authors.forename: Udi
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Qimron
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000821:virology; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000502:physiology*; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D016296:Mutagenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013312:Stress, Physiological
keywords: Cryptic growth; Darwin; Lamarck; Natural selection; Phage resistance