Evidence that Accumulation of Mutants in a Biofilm Reflects Natural Selection Rather than Stress-Induced Adaptive Mutation

Jeffrey A Banas; Justin D Miller; Meghan E Fuschino; Karsten R. O Hazlett; Wendy Toyofuku; Kristen A Porter; Sarah B Reutzel; Matthew A Florczyk; Kathleen A McDonough; Suzanne M Michalek

doi:10.1128/AEM.02014-06

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Evidence that Accumulation of Mutants in a Biofilm Reflects Natural Selection Rather than Stress-Induced Adaptive Mutation

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Evidence that Accumulation of Mutants in a Biofilm Reflects Natural Selection Rather than Stress-Induced Adaptive Mutation

Jeffrey A Banas, Justin D Miller, Meghan E Fuschino, Karsten R. O Hazlett, Wendy Toyofuku, Kristen A Porter, Sarah B Reutzel, Matthew A Florczyk, Kathleen A McDonough and Suzanne M Michalek

Applied and environmental microbiology, Vol.73(1), pp.357-361

01/2007

DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02014-06

PMCID: PMC1797100

PMID: 17085702

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Abstract

The accumulation of mutant genotypes within a biofilm evokes the controversy over whether the biofilm environment induces adaptive mutation or whether the accumulation can be explained by natural selection. A comparison of the virulence of two strains of the dental pathogen Streptococcus mutans showed that rats infected with one of the strains accumulated a high proportion (average, 22%) of organisms that had undergone a deletion between two contiguous and highly homologous genes. To determine if the accumulation of deletion mutants was due to selection or to an increased mutation rate, accumulations of deletion mutants within in vitro planktonic and biofilm cultures and within rats inoculated with various proportions of deletion organisms were quantified. We report here that natural selection was the primary force behind the accumulation of the deletion mutants.

Microbial Ecology

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Title: Subtitle: Evidence that Accumulation of Mutants in a Biofilm Reflects Natural Selection Rather than Stress-Induced Adaptive Mutation
Creators: Jeffrey A Banas - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Justin D Miller - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Meghan E Fuschino - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Karsten R. O Hazlett - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Wendy Toyofuku - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Kristen A Porter - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Sarah B Reutzel - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Matthew A Florczyk - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Kathleen A McDonough - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Suzanne M Michalek - Center for Immunology and Microbial Disease, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Ave., Albany, New York 12208
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Applied and environmental microbiology, Vol.73(1), pp.357-361
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02014-06
PMID: 17085702
PMCID: PMC1797100
NLM abbreviation: Appl Environ Microbiol
ISSN: 0099-2240
eISSN: 1098-5336
Publisher: American Society for Microbiology
Language: English
Date published: 01/2007
Academic Unit: Pediatric Dentistry; Dental Research
Record Identifier: 9984066089802771

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