Stress-Induced Mutagenesis
Organizations should increase innovation investment under threat (declining markets, competitive pressure, disruption) as an adaptive response.
The bacteria weren't passive victims of evolution. They were active participants, turning up genetic variation precisely when change mattered most.
Stress-induced mutagenesis demonstrates that mutation rates can increase dynamically in response to environmental stress. Under starvation or other stresses, bacteria activate error-prone DNA polymerases (Pol IV, Pol V in E. coli) that lack proofreading activity, increasing mutation rates 100-1000x. This generates genetic diversity precisely when it's most needed - when current genetic configurations are failing. The mechanism is adaptive because: (1) Timing - mutation rates increase when selection pressure is strong, maximizing chance of finding beneficial mutations before death; (2) Locality - stress-induced mutations are concentrated in genomic regions under selection, reducing deleterious mutation load; (3) Reversibility - once stress is relieved, mutation rates drop back to baseline.
Business Application of Stress-Induced Mutagenesis
Organizations should increase innovation investment under threat (declining markets, competitive pressure, disruption) as an adaptive response. This 'stress-induced innovation' mirrors how bacteria ramp up genetic variation when current strategies fail. Roche exemplifies this by increasing oncology R&D investment when cancer drug patents expired.
Discovery
Susan Rosenberg (2001)
Challenged textbook view that mutations are purely random, clock-like events occurring at constant rates regardless of environmental conditions