The evolution of bacterial mutation rates under simultaneous selection by interspecific and social parasitism.

ABSTRACT: Many bacterial populations harbour substantial numbers of hypermutable bacteria, in spite of hypermutation being associated with deleterious mutations. One reason for the persistence of hypermutators is the provision of novel mutations, enabling rapid adaptation to continually changing environments, for example coevolving virulent parasites. However, hypermutation also increases the rate at which intraspecific parasites (social cheats) are generated. Interspecific and intraspecific parasitism are therefore likely to impose conflicting selection pressure on mutation rate. Here, we combine theory and experiments to investigate how simultaneous selection from inter- and intraspecific parasitism affects the evolution of bacterial mutation rates in the plant-colonizing bacterium Pseudomonas flu

SUBMITTER: O'Brien S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3826219 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature