Mutation, Selection and Genetic Interactions in Bacteria (original) (raw)
2001, Encyclopedia of Life Sciences
Mutation is the ultimate source of genetic variation. The rate at which new mutations typically occur, their effects on fitness and the strength and type of genetic interactions between different mutations are key for understanding the evolution of any population. Estimates of these parameters in organisms such as bacteria will have a profound impact on our understanding of their biology, diversity, rate of speciation and in our health. Experimental evolution with bacteria presents us with the opportunity to directly measure these parameters and to test theoretical predictions about the genetic basis of adaptive evolution. Evidence has been increasing to support the view that bacterial adaptation can be extraordinary fast, that competition between different adaptive mutations may be pervasive in bacterial populations and that epistasis is very common and possibly biased towards antagonism in bacteria.
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