Weak Mutators Can Drive the Evolution of Fluoroquinolone Resistance in Escherichia coli

Abstract
Weak mutators are common among clinical isolates of Escherichia coli . We show that the relative mutation rate and the “evolvability of fluoroquinolone resistance” are related by a power law slope of 1.2 over 3 orders of magnitude. Thus, even weak mutators can drive the evolution of fluoroquinolone resistance under selection pressure.