Accumulation of mutants in "aging" bacterial colonies is due to growth under selection, not stress-induced mutagenesis.

Abstract excerpt

Several bacterial systems show behavior interpreted as evidence for stress-induced mutagenesis (adaptive mutation), a postulated process by which nongrowing cells temporarily increase their general mutation rate. Theoretical considerations suggest that periodic stress-induced general mutagenesis would not be advantageous in the long term, due to the high cost of deleterious mutations. Alternative explanations...

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