Document type
Journal articles
Document subtype
Full paper
Title
Plasmid Costs Explain Plasmid Maintenance, Irrespective of the Nature of Compensatory Mutations
Participants in the publication
João S. Rebelo (Author)
cE3c/FCUL
Célia P. F. Domingues (Author)
cE3c/FCUL
Francisco Dionisio (Author)
cE3c/FCUL
Dep. Biologia Vegetal
Summary
Conjugative plasmids often carry virulence and antibiotic-resistant genes. Therefore, understanding the behavior of these extra-chromosomal DNA elements gives insights into their spread.\\nBacteria frequently replicate slower after plasmids’ entry, an observation inconsistent with the plasmids’ ubiquity in nature. Several hypotheses explain the maintenance of plasmids among bacterial\\ncommunities. However, the numerous combinations of bacterial species and strains, plasmids, and\\nenvironments claim a robust elucidatory mechanism of plasmid maintenance. Previous works have\\nshown that donor cells already adapted to the plasmid may use the plasmid as a ‘weapon’ to compete\\nwith non-adapted plasmid-free cells. Computer simulations corroborated this hypothesis with a wide\\nrange of parameters. Here we show that donor cells benefit from harboring conjugative plasmids\\neven if compensatory mutations in transconjugant cells occur in the plasmid, not on chromosomes.\\nThe advantage’s leading causes are as follows: mutations take time to appear, many plasmids remain\\ncostly, and re-transfer of mutated plasmids usually occurs in sites distant to the original donors,\\nimplying little competition between these cells. Research in previous decades cautioned against\\nuncritical acceptance of the hypothesis that resistance cost helps to preserve antibiotics’ effectiveness.\\nThis work gives a new twist to this conclusion by showing that costs help antibiotic-resistant bacteria\\nto compete with plasmid-free cells even if compensatory mutations appear in plasmids.
Date of Acceptance
2023-04-28
Date of Publication
2023-05-01
Institution
FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA
Where published
Antibiotics
Publication Identifiers
ISSN - 2079-6382
Publisher
MDPI AG
Document Identifiers
DOI -
https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12050841
URL -
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12050841
Rankings
SCIMAGO Q1 (2021) - 785 - Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics (miscellaneous)
Web Of Science Q1 (2021) - 5.222 - PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY - SCIE
Keywords
conjugative plasmids
antibiotic resistance
conjugation
fitness cost
adaptation
computer simulations