title: Where antibiotic resistance mutations meet quorum-sensing.
abstract: We do not need to rehearse the grim story of the global rise of antibiotic resistant microbes. But what if it were possible to control the rate with which antibiotic resistance evolves byde novomutation? It seems that some bacteria may already do exactly that: they modify the rate at which they mutate to antibiotic resistance dependent on their biological environment. In our recent study [Krašovec,et al.Nat. Commun. (2014), 5, 3742] we find that this modification depends on the density of the bacterial population and cell-cell interactions (rather than, for instance, the level of stress). Specifically, the wild-type strains ofEscherichia coliwe used will, in minimal glucose media, modify their rate of mutation to rifampicin resistance according to the density of wild-type cells. Intriguingly, the higher the density, the lower the mutation rate (Figure 1). Why this novel density-dependent 'mutation rate plasticity' (DD-MRP) occurs is a question at several levels. Answers are currently fragmentary, but involve the quorum-sensing geneluxSand its role in the activated methyl cycle.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Rok
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krašovec
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London NW4 4BT, UK.
authors.forename: Roman V
authors.initials: RV
authors.lastname: Belavkin
authors.affiliation: Statistical Laboratory, DPMMS, University of Cambridge, CB3 0WB, UK.
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Aston
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Keele University, ST5 5BG, UK.
authors.forename: Alastair
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Channon
authors.affiliation: Research Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Keele University, ST5 5BG, UK.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aston
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Bharat M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Rash
authors.affiliation: Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester, M20 3LJ, UK. ; Manchester Pharmacy School, University of Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Manikandan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kadirvel
authors.affiliation: Manchester Pharmacy School, University of Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Forbes
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Knight
keywords: DNA methylation; autoinducer 2; autoinducer 3; evolution; fluctuation test; mutagenesis; optimal control; stress-induced mutagenesis