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Multi-Omic Understanding Of The Evolution Of Xenobiotic Tolerance In Bacterial Isolates And Communities, Tayte Paul Campbell

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Xenobiotic compounds are any chemicals that are released into an environment by human action and that occur at concentrations higher than found naturally. Xenobiotics, including aromatic compounds and antibiotics, are recalcitrant to degradation because they are often toxic or mutagenic. Despite this toxicity, bacteria account for a large portion of xenobiotic degradation in the environment. Bacteria are able to adapt to these foreign chemicals, gaining increased levels of tolerance and increased rates of xenobiotic degradation. On the strain level, increased tolerance can be caused by mutations in individual cells or through the acquisition of genes from other cells. At the …