Commentary
Predicting the evolution of antibiotic resistance
1 Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Zulpicher Strasse 47, D-50674, Koln, Germany
2 Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708PB, Wageningen, the Netherlands
BMC Biology 2013, 11:14 doi:10.1186/1741-7007-11-14
Published: 22 February 2013Abstract
Mutations causing antibiotic resistance are often associated with a cost in the absence of antibiotics. Surprisingly, a new study found that bacteria adapting to increased temperature became resistant to rifampicin. By studying the consequences of the involved mutations in different conditions and genetic backgrounds, the authors illustrate how knowledge of two fundamental genetic properties, pleiotropy and epistasis, may help to predict the evolution of antibiotic resistance.
See research article http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/13/50 webcite
