Phase variation: how to create and coordinate population diversity

TY - JOUR

T1 - Phase variation

T2 - how to create and coordinate population diversity

AU - Van Der Woude, Marjan

N1 - Invited review

PY - 2011/4

Y1 - 2011/4

N2 - Phase variation yields phenotypic heterogeneity in a clonal population as the result of one of a limited number of known molecular mechanisms. These include slipped strand mispairing, site-specific recombination and epigenetic regulation mediated by DNA methylation. Recently new regulatory variants utilizing these mechanisms have been identified, which is facilitating the identification of additional phase variation events solely from genome sequence analysis. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that in many cases phase variation control is integrated with regulatory networks and with cellular processes of a growing cell. This review focuses specifically on these recent advances in the understanding of the regulation of phase variation.

AB - Phase variation yields phenotypic heterogeneity in a clonal population as the result of one of a limited number of known molecular mechanisms. These include slipped strand mispairing, site-specific recombination and epigenetic regulation mediated by DNA methylation. Recently new regulatory variants utilizing these mechanisms have been identified, which is facilitating the identification of additional phase variation events solely from genome sequence analysis. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly clear that in many cases phase variation control is integrated with regulatory networks and with cellular processes of a growing cell. This review focuses specifically on these recent advances in the understanding of the regulation of phase variation.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79954596315&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.mib.2011.01.002

DO - 10.1016/j.mib.2011.01.002

M3 - Article

VL - 14

SP - 205

EP - 211

JO - Current Opinion in Microbiology

JF - Current Opinion in Microbiology

IS - 2

ER -