Effects of mutations in phage restriction sites during escape from restriction–modification

Restriction–modification systems are widespread genetic elements that protect bacteria from bacteriophage infections by recognizing and cleaving heterologous DNA at short, well-defined sequences called restriction sites. Bioinformatic evidence shows that restriction sites are significantly underrepresented in bacteriophage genomes, presumably because bacteriophages with fewer restriction sites are more likely to escape cleavage by restriction–modification systems. However, how mutations in restriction sites affect the likelihood of bacteriophage escape is unknown. Using the bacteriophage λ and the restriction–modification system EcoRI, we show that while mutation effects at different restriction sites are unequal, they are independent. As a result, the probability of bacteriophage escape increases with each mutated restriction site. Our results experimentally support the role of restriction site avoidance as a response to selection imposed by restriction–modification systems and offer an insight into the events underlying the process of bacteriophage escape.