Temporal dynamics of bacteria-plasmid coevolution under antibiotic selection

TY - JOUR

T1 - Temporal dynamics of bacteria-plasmid coevolution under antibiotic selection

AU - Bottery, Michael John

AU - Wood, Andrew James

AU - Brockhurst, Michael Alan

N1 - © The Author(s) 2018

PY - 2019/2/1

Y1 - 2019/2/1

N2 - Horizontally acquired genes can be costly to express even if they encode useful traits, such as antibiotic resistance. We previously showed that when selected with tetracycline, Escherichia coli carrying the tetracycline-resistance plasmid RK2 evolved mutations on both replicons that together provided increased tetracycline resistance at reduced cost. Here we investigate the temporal dynamics of this intragenomic coevolution. Using genome sequencing we show that the order of adaptive mutations was highly repeatable across three independently evolving populations. Each population first gained a chromosomal mutation in ompF which shortened lag phase and increased tetracycline resistance. This was followed by mutations impairing the plasmid-encoded tetracycline efflux pump, and finally, additional resistance-associated chromosomal mutations. Thus, reducing the cost of the horizontally acquired tetracycline resistance was contingent on first evolving a degree of chromosomally encoded resistance. We conclude therefore that the trajectory of bacteria-plasmid coevolution was constrained to a single repeatable path.

AB - Horizontally acquired genes can be costly to express even if they encode useful traits, such as antibiotic resistance. We previously showed that when selected with tetracycline, Escherichia coli carrying the tetracycline-resistance plasmid RK2 evolved mutations on both replicons that together provided increased tetracycline resistance at reduced cost. Here we investigate the temporal dynamics of this intragenomic coevolution. Using genome sequencing we show that the order of adaptive mutations was highly repeatable across three independently evolving populations. Each population first gained a chromosomal mutation in ompF which shortened lag phase and increased tetracycline resistance. This was followed by mutations impairing the plasmid-encoded tetracycline efflux pump, and finally, additional resistance-associated chromosomal mutations. Thus, reducing the cost of the horizontally acquired tetracycline resistance was contingent on first evolving a degree of chromosomally encoded resistance. We conclude therefore that the trajectory of bacteria-plasmid coevolution was constrained to a single repeatable path.

KW - Adaptation, Physiological/drug effects

KW - Biological Coevolution

KW - Escherichia coli/drug effects

KW - Gene Transfer, Horizontal

KW - Plasmids/genetics

KW - Replicon

KW - Selection, Genetic

KW - Tetracycline Resistance/genetics

KW - Tetracycline/pharmacology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85053524635&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41396-018-0276-9

DO - 10.1038/s41396-018-0276-9

M3 - Article

C2 - 30209344

SN - 1751-7362

VL - 13

SP - 559

EP - 562

JO - The ISME Journal

JF - The ISME Journal

IS - 2

ER -