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Mutational reversions during adaptive protein evolution.

Mark A DePristo¹, Daniel L Hartl, Daniel M Weinreich

¹Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, MA, USA. mark@depristo.com

Molecular Biology and Evolution

|June 9, 2007

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Natural selection doesn't always take the simplest path during adaptation. Evolution can involve favoring a mutation, then removing it, and later reintroducing it, especially in antibiotic resistance.

Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Microbial genetics
Antibiotic resistance

Background:

Adaptation is typically viewed as a linear process of beneficial mutations accumulating.
The evolutionary pathways leading to complex traits like antibiotic resistance are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the non-linear trajectories of natural selection during adaptation.
To explore the role of mutation-favoring-reversion-restoration pathways in antibiotic resistance evolution.

Main Methods:

Analysis of evolutionary trajectories during antibiotic resistance development.
Observational study of mutation dynamics in microbial populations.

Main Results:

A significant number of evolutionary paths show natural selection favoring a mutation, then its removal, and subsequent restoration.

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These 'reversion trajectories' demonstrate that selection does not always follow the most direct route.

Conclusions:

Natural selection can follow complex and circuitous routes during adaptation.
The evolution of antibiotic resistance may involve unexpected and non-parsimonious pathways.