Related Experiment Videos
Adaptive mutagenesis at ebgR is regulated by PhoPQ
1Biology Department, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627-0211, USA. drbh@uhura.cc.rochester.edu
Journal of Bacteriology
|June 6, 1998
Summary
Adaptive mutations in microbes are regulated by the PhoPQ system. Disrupting phoP or phoQ genes significantly reduces adaptive mutation rates, suggesting controlled mutagenesis during stress.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Adaptive mutations arise in microbial cells under prolonged stress.
- The PhoPQ system regulates genes in response to environmental signals like nutrient deprivation.
- PhoPQ is a two-component regulatory system in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the PhoPQ regulatory system in adaptive mutagenesis.
- To determine if adaptive mutagenesis machinery is regulated by PhoPQ.
Main Methods:
- Disruption of the phoP or phoQ genes using Tn10dCam.
- Measuring adaptive mutation rates to ebgR in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium.
Main Results:
- Disruption of phoP or phoQ significantly reduced the adaptive mutation rate to ebgR.
- This indicates that the adaptive mutagenesis machinery is regulated by the PhoPQ system.
Conclusions:
- The PhoPQ system directly or indirectly regulates adaptive mutagenesis.
- Adaptive mutagenesis is not solely due to a failure of error correction mechanisms during starvation.