Article
Re-examining the role and random nature of phase variation.
FEMS microbiology letters - 1 Jan 2006
van der Woude Marjan W
Abstract excerpt
Phase variation in bacteria is often considered a random process that has evolved to facilitate immune evasion in a host. Here, alternative biological roles for this process are presented and discussed, incorporating recent studies on nonpathogenic and commensal bacterial species. Furthermore, the integration of phase variation into bacterial regulatory networks and the relevance of this for considering phase...
Topics
- Adaptation, Physiological
- Animals
- Bacteria
- Bacterial Proteins
- Biofilms
- Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
- Humans
- Phenotype