ArticleNature communications2023
Tradeoff between lag time and growth rate drives the plasmid acquisition cost.
Article in Nature communications, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed.
- Horizontal acquisition of nicotine catabolism gene cluster enhances Arthrobacter fitness within tobacco root microbiota.Microbiome · 2026Article
- Plasmid-encoded host reprogramming promotes plasmid dissemination.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Structural and mechanistic basis of ubiquitous bacterial kinase signaling identifies PorX as a noncanonical substrate in Porphyromonas gingivalis.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
- Article
- Host range and antibiotic resistance dissemination are shaped by distinct survival strategies of conjugative plasmids.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Rethinking the plasmid paradox: when plasmid costs do not affect fitness.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Article
- Fitness costs and persistence of plasmid-mediated cephalosporin resistance inFrontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
- A foundation model for microbial growth dynamics.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Exclusion systems preserve host cell homeostasis and fitness, ensuring successful dissemination of conjugative plasmids and associated resistance genes.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Conjugative delivery of toxin genesJournal of bacteriology · 2025Article
- The extended mobility of plasmids.Nucleic acids research · 2025Review
- The role of bacterial metabolism in antimicrobial resistance.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2025Review
- The metabolic burden associated with plasmid acquisition: An assessment of the unrecognized benefits to host cells.BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology · 2025Review
- Article
- Nonlinear regulatory dynamics of bacterial restriction-modification systems modulates horizontal gene transfer susceptibility.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- First report of a carbapenem-resistantCurrent research in microbial sciences · 2025Article
- A chromosomal mutation is superior to a plasmid-encoded mutation for plasmid fitness cost compensation.PLoS biology · 2024Article
- Expanding the diversity of origin of transfer-containing sequences in mobilizable plasmids.Nature microbiology · 2024Article
- Food Webs and Feedbacks: The Untold Ecological Relevance of Antimicrobial Resistance as Seen in Harmful Algal Blooms.Microorganisms · 2024Review
- IncC plasmid genome rearrangements influence the vertical and horizontal transmission tradeoff inAntimicrobial agents and chemotherapy · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Conjugative plasmids drive genetic diversity and evolution in microbial populations. Despite their prevalence, plasmids can impose long-term fitness costs on their hosts, altering population structure, growth dynamics, and evolutionary outcomes. In addition to long-term fitness costs, acquiring a new plasmid introduces an immediate, short-term perturbation to the cell. However, due to the transient nature of this plasmid acquisition cost, a quantitative understanding of its physiological manifestations, overall magnitudes, and population-level implications, remains unclear. To address this, here we track growth of single colonies immediately following plasmid acquisition. We find that plasmid acquisition costs are primarily driven by changes in lag time, rather than growth rate, for nearly 60 conditions covering diverse plasmids, selection environments, and clinical strains/species. Surprisingly, for a costly plasmid, clones exhibiting longer lag times also achieve faster recovery growth rates, suggesting an evolutionary tradeoff. Modeling and experiments demonstrate that this tradeoff leads to counterintuitive ecological dynamics, whereby intermediate-cost plasmids outcompete both their low and high-cost counterparts. These results suggest that, unlike fitness costs, plasmid acquisition dynamics are not uniformly driven by minimizing growth disadvantages. Moreover, a lag/growth tradeoff has clear implications in predicting the ecological outcomes and intervention strategies of bacteria undergoing conjugation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.