Mutators Enhance Adaptive Micro-Evolution in Pathogenic Microbes

Adaptation to the changing environmental conditions experienced within a host requires genetic diversity within a microbial population. Genetic diversity arises from mutations which occur due to DNA damage from exposure to exogenous environmental stresses or generated endogenously through respiratio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microorganisms (Basel) 2022-02, Vol.10 (2), p.442
Main Author: Boyce, Kylie J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adaptation
Antibiotic resistance
Antibiotics
Bacteria
Cell division
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA biosynthesis
DNA damage
DNA polymerase
DNA repair
DNA-directed DNA polymerase
E coli
Environmental changes
Environmental conditions
Environmental stress
Evolution
Gene expression
Genes
Genetic diversity
Genomes
Genotype & phenotype
Immune system
Insects
micro-evolution
Microorganisms
Mismatch repair
msh2
Mutagenesis
Mutation
Mutation rates
mutator
mutS
Population genetics
Proteins
Repair
Review
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Summary:Adaptation to the changing environmental conditions experienced within a host requires genetic diversity within a microbial population. Genetic diversity arises from mutations which occur due to DNA damage from exposure to exogenous environmental stresses or generated endogenously through respiration or DNA replication errors. As mutations can be deleterious, a delicate balance must be obtained between generating enough mutations for micro-evolution to occur while maintaining fitness and genomic integrity. Pathogenic microorganisms can actively modify their mutation rate to enhance adaptive micro-evolution by increasing expression of error-prone DNA polymerases or by mutating or decreasing expression of genes required for DNA repair. Strains which exhibit an elevated mutation rate are termed mutators. Mutators are found in varying prevalence in clinical populations where large-effect beneficial mutations enhance survival and are predominately caused by defects in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway. Mutators can facilitate the emergence of antibiotic resistance, allow phenotypic modifications to prevent recognition and destruction by the host immune system and enable switching to metabolic and cellular morphologies better able to survive in the given environment. This review will focus on recent advances in understanding the phenotypic and genotypic changes occurring in MMR mutators in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic pathogens.
ISSN:2076-2607
2076-2607
DOI:10.3390/microorganisms10020442