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Nutrient-dependent growth defects and mutability of mutators in Escherichia coli

Yuuka Ishizawa1, Bei-Wen Ying, Saburo Tsuru

  • 1Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University, 1-5 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan.

Genes to Cells : Devoted to Molecular & Cellular Mechanisms
|November 8, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Mutator strains exhibit conditional growth defects and nutrition-sensitive mutation rates. Nutrient availability can alleviate growth burdens, highlighting the importance of modulating mutability for survival.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Mutators, arising from defects in DNA repair, accelerate mutation accumulation.
  • While beneficial mutations aid adaptation, deleterious mutations can impair cell growth.
  • Nutrient availability may offset growth defects associated with high mutation rates.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between high mutability and growth burden under varying nutritional conditions.
  • To determine if nutrient availability can compensate for growth defects in mutator strains.
  • To assess the impact of nutritional variation on mutation rates in mutators.

Main Methods:

  • Constructed Escherichia coli mutator strains via gene deletions in mismatch repair and proofreading pathways.
  • Quantitatively assessed growth rates and mutation rates under diverse nutritional conditions.
  • Compared mutator strains to wild-type strains across different nutrient availabilities.

Main Results:

  • All mutator strains displayed growth defects, which were mitigated by nutrient supplementation in most cases.
  • Mutator strains showed significant fluctuations in mutation rates with changing nutritional conditions.
  • Wild-type strains maintained a relatively constant mutation rate irrespective of nutritional variation.

Conclusions:

  • Conditional growth defects and nutrition-sensitive mutability are general characteristics of mutators.
  • Mutability can be modulated in response to nutrient availability, crucial for minimizing extinction risk.
  • This study underscores the adaptive significance of regulating mutation rates in dynamic environments.

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