Journal
FEMS MICROBIOLOGY LETTERS
Volume 254, Issue 2, Pages 190-197Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2005.00038.x
Keywords
review; phase variation; gene regulation; immune evasion; biofilm; adhesion
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Funding
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/C502849/1] Funding Source: Medline
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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 variation as a random process are reviewed. Novel approaches are needed to study phase variation and its biological roles, but the insights obtained can contribute significantly to our understanding of the dynamic behaviour of bacterial populations and their interactions with the environment.
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