Adaptive mutation is a generic term for processes that allow individual cells of nonproliferating cell populations to acquire advantageous mutations and thereby to overcome the strong selective pressure of proliferation-limiting environmental conditions. Prerequisites for an occurrence of adaptive mutation are that the selective conditions are nonlethal and that a restart of proliferation may be accomplished by some genetic change in principle. The importance of adaptive mutation is derived from the assumption that it may, on the one hand, result in an accelerated evolution of microorganisms and, on the other, in multicellular organisms may contribute to a breakout of somatic cells from negative growth regulation, i.e., to cancerogenesis. Most information on adaptive mutation in eukaryotes has been gained with the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This review focuses comprehensively on adaptive mutation in this organism and summarizes our current understanding of this issue.

中文翻译：

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酿酒酵母中的适应性突变。

适应性突变是过程的通用术语，它可使不增殖细胞群的单个细胞获得有利的突变，从而克服限制增殖的环境条件的强大选择性压力。发生适应性突变的先决条件是选择条件必须是非致命性的，并且原则上可以通过某种遗传改变来完成增殖的重新开始。适应性突变的重要性源于以下假设：一方面，它可能导致微生物加速进化；另一方面，在多细胞生物中，它可能导致体细胞从负向生长调节中脱颖而出，即致癌。关于真核生物适应性突变的大多数信息是通过芽孢的酿酒酵母获得的。这项审查全面侧重于这种生物体中的适应性突变，并总结了我们目前对该问题的理解。