Population Dynamics of a Lac(-) Strain of Escherichia coli During Selection for Lactose Utilization

INVESTIGATIONS

Population Dynamics of a Lac(-) Strain of Escherichia coli During Selection for Lactose Utilization

P. L. Foster
Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118

During selection for lactose utilization, Lac(+) revertants of FC40, a Lac(-) strain of Escherichia coli, appear at a high rate. Yet, no Lac(+) revertants appear in the absence of lactose, or in its presence if the cells have another, unfulfilled requirement for growth. This study investigates more fully the population dynamics of FC40 when incubated in the absence of a carbon source or when undergoing selection for lactose utilization. In the absence of a carbon source, the viable cell numbers do not change over 6 days. When incubated in liquid lactose medium, Lac(-) cells do not undergo any measurable increase in numbers or in turbidity for at least 2 days. When FC40 is plated on lactose minimum medium in the presence of scavenger cells, the upper limit to the amount of growth of Lac(-) cells during 5 days is one doubling, and there is no evidence for turnover (i.e., a balance between growth and death). The presence of a minority population that could form microcolonies was not detected. The implications of these results, plus the fact that the appearance of Lac(+) revertants during lactose selection is nearly constant with time, are discussed in reference to several models that have been postulated to account for adaptive mutations.

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				J. R. Roth and D. I. Andersson Adaptive Mutation: How Growth under Selection Stimulates Lac+ Reversion by Increasing Target Copy Number J. Bacteriol., August 1, 2004; 186(15): 4855 - 4860. [Full Text] [PDF]

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				P. L. Foster Adaptive Mutation: Has the Unicorn Landed? Genetics, April 1, 1998; 148(4): 1453 - 1459. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. M. Rosenberg, C. Thulin, and R. S. Harris Transient and Heritable Mutators in Adaptive Evolution in the Lab and in Nature Genetics, April 1, 1998; 148(4): 1559 - 1566. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. R. Timms and B. A. Bridges Reversion of the Tyrosine Ochre Strain Escherichia coli WU3610 under Starvation Conditions Depends on a New Gene tas Genetics, April 1, 1998; 148(4): 1627 - 1635. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Radicella, P. Park, and M. Fox Adaptive mutation in Escherichia coli: a role for conjugation Science, April 21, 1995; 268(5209): 418 - 420. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T Galitski and Roth JR Evidence that F plasmid transfer replication underlies apparent adaptive mutation Science, April 21, 1995; 268(5209): 421 - 423. [Abstract] [PDF]