Premium
Evolution of simple sequence repeat–mediated phase variation in bacterial genomes
Author(s) -
Bayliss Christopher D.,
Palmer Michael E.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06584.x
Subject(s) - genome , bacterial genome size , somatic hypermutation , biology , adaptation (eye) , computational biology , genetics , mechanism (biology) , gene , evolutionary biology , antibody , philosophy , b cell , epistemology , neuroscience
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.