Ecological effects of stress drive bacterial evolvability under sub-inhibitory antibiotic treatments

• Published in: ISME Communications Vol. 2; no. 1; p. 80
• Main Authors: Vasse, Marie, Bonhoeffer, Sebastian, Frenoy, Antoine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer Nature B.V 02.09.2022; Springer Nature; Nature Publishing Group UK; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Drug resistance; E coli; Ecological effects; Evolution; Genetic analysis; Genetic diversity; Life Sciences; Mutagenesis; Mutation; Mutation rates; Population number; Quantitative genetics; Regrowth; Simulation; Stochasticity; Streptococcus infections

Stress is thought to increase mutation rate and thus to accelerate evolution. In the context of antibiotic resistance, sub-inhibitory treatments could then lead to enhanced evolvability, thereby fuelling the adaptation of pathogens. Combining wet-lab experiments, stochastic simulations and a meta-an...