Translational demand is not a major source of plasmid-associated fitness costs.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci
; 377(1842): 20200463, 2022 01 17.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34839712
ABSTRACT
Plasmids are key drivers of bacterial evolution because they are crucial agents for the horizontal transfer of adaptive traits, such as antibiotic resistance. Most plasmids entail a metabolic burden that reduces the fitness of their host if there is no selection for plasmid-encoded genes. It has been hypothesized that the translational demand imposed by plasmid-encoded genes is a major mechanism driving the fitness cost of plasmids. Plasmid-encoded genes typically present a different codon usage from host chromosomal genes. As a consequence, the translation of plasmid-encoded genes might sequestrate ribosomes on plasmid transcripts, overwhelming the translation machinery of the cell. However, the pervasiveness and origins of the translation-derived costs of plasmids are yet to be assessed. Here, we systematically altered translation efficiency in the host cell to disentangle the fitness effects produced by six natural antibiotic resistance plasmids. We show that limiting translation efficiency either by reducing the number of available ribosomes or their processivity does not increase plasmid costs. Overall, our results suggest that ribosomal paucity is not a major contributor to plasmid fitness costs. This article is part of the theme issue 'The secret lives of microbial mobile genetic elements'.
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Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Bactérias
/
Transferência Genética Horizontal
Tipo de estudo:
Health_economic_evaluation
/
Risk_factors_studies
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article