In a growth-restricting environment, mutants arise that are able to take over bacterial
populations by a process known as adaptive mutation or stationary-phase mutation. This …

Stationary-phase mutations occur in populations of stressed, nongrowing, and slowly
growing cells and allow mutant bacteria to overcome growth barriers. Mutational processes …

A recent study indicates that the genomic mutation rate of the gut bacterium Escherichia coli
is substantially higher in nongrowing than growing cultures. These findings are important in …

Microorganisms are exposed to constantly changing environmental conditions. In a growth‐
restricting environment (eg during starvation), mutants arise that are able to take over the …

Mutations in an organism's genome can arise spontaneously, that is, in the absence of
exogenous stress and prior to selection. Mutations are often neutral or deleterious to …

Bacteria with elevated mutation rates are frequently found among natural isolates. This is
probably because of their ability to generate genetic variability, the substrate for natural …

The separation of sex and reproduction in bacteria and most other microbes makes their
evolutionary adaptation primarily dependent on mutation as the 'raw material'. At first sight …

Evolutionary success of bacteria relies on the constant fine‐tuning of their mutation rates,
which optimizes their adaptability to constantly changing environmental conditions. When …

Several investigators have recently reported that significant numbers of appropriately
adapted mutants can be induced in bacterial and yeast strains by exposing stationary phase …

Spontaneous mutation, selection, and isolation are key elements in biological evolution.
Molecular genetic approaches reveal a multitude of different mechanisms by which …