Asymmetrical dose-responses shape the evolutionary trade-off between antifungal resistance and nutrient use

Abstract

AbstractAntimicrobial resistance is an emerging threat for public health. The success of resistance mutations depends on the trade-off between the benefits and costs they incur. This trade-off is largely unknown and uncharacterized for antifungals. Here, we systematically catalog the effect of all amino acid substitutions in the yeast cytosine deaminase FCY1, the target of the antifungal 5-FC. We identify over 900 missense mutations granting resistance to 5-FC, a large fraction of which appear to act through destabilisation of the protein. The relationship between 5-FC resistance and growth sustained by cytosine deamination is characterized by a sharp trade-off, such that small gains in resistance universally lead to large losses in canonical enzyme function. We show that this steep relationship can be explained by differences in the dose-response function of 5-FC and cytosine. Our results provide a powerful resource and platform for interpreting drug target variants in fungal pathogens as well as unprecedented insights into resistance-function trade-offs.