The cost of antibiotic resistance depends on evolutionary history in Escherichia coli
OPEN ACCESS
Author / Producer
Date
2013-08
Publication Type
Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
Citations
Altmetric
OPEN ACCESS
Data
Rights / License
Abstract
Background
The persistence of antibiotic resistance depends on the fitness effects of resistance elements in the absence of antibiotics. Recent work shows that the fitness effect of a given resistance mutation is influenced by other resistance mutations on the same genome. However, resistant bacteria acquire additional beneficial mutations during evolution in the absence of antibiotics that do not alter resistance directly but may modify the fitness effects of new resistance mutations.
Results
We experimentally evolved rifampicin-resistant and sensitive Escherichia coli in a drug-free environment, before measuring the effects of new resistance elements on fitness in antibiotic-free conditions. Streptomycin-resistance mutations had small fitness effects in rifampicin-resistant genotypes that had adapted to antibiotic-free growth medium, compared to the same genotypes without adaptation. We observed a similar effect when resistance was encoded by a different mechanism and carried on a plasmid. Antibiotic-sensitive bacteria that adapted to the same conditions showed the same pattern for some resistance elements but not others.
Conclusions
Epistatic variation of costs of resistance can result from evolution in the absence of antibiotics, as well as the presence of other resistance mutations.
Permanent link
Publication status
published
External links
Editor
Book title
Journal / series
Volume
13
Pages / Article No.
163
Publisher
BioMed Central
Event
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Antibiotic resistance; Epistasis; Experimental evolution; Escherichia coli
Organisational unit
03584 - Bonhoeffer, Sebastian / Bonhoeffer, Sebastian
09497 - Hall, Alex / Hall, Alex
03743 - Ackermann, Martin / Ackermann, Martin