Evolution of simple sequence repeat-mediated phase variation in bacterial genomes

Mutability as mechanism for rapid adaptation to environmental challenge is an alluringly simple concept whose apotheosis is realized in simple sequence repeats (SSR). Bacterial genomes of several species contain SSRs with a proven role in adaptation to environmental fluctuations. SSRs are hypermutab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2012-09, Vol.1267 (1), p.39-44
Main Authors: Bayliss, Christopher D., Palmer, Michael E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Adaptation, Biological - genetics
Adaptive Immunity
Bacteria
Bacteria - genetics
Bacteria - immunology
Bacteria - virology
Bacteriology
Bacteriophages - physiology
Bioinformatics
Computer Simulation
DNA Mismatch Repair
DNA Replication
Environment
Evolution
Evolution, Molecular
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Genetics
Genome, Bacterial
Genomes
Host-Pathogen Interactions
Mathematical models
Microsatellite Repeats
Models, Genetic
Mutagenesis
Mutation
pathogen
phase variation
Selection, Genetic
simple sequence repeat
Switches
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Summary:Mutability as mechanism for rapid adaptation to environmental challenge is an alluringly simple concept whose apotheosis is realized in simple sequence repeats (SSR). Bacterial genomes of several species contain SSRs with a proven role in adaptation to environmental fluctuations. SSRs are hypermutable and generate reversible mutations in localized regions of bacterial genomes, leading to phase variable ON/OFF switches in gene expression. The application of genetic, bioinformatic, and mathematical/computational modeling approaches are revolutionizing our current understanding of how genomic molecular forces and environmental factors influence SSR‐mediated adaptation and led to evolution of this mechanism of localized hypermutation in bacterial genomes.
ISSN:0077-8923
1749-6632
DOI:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06584.x