An IS-mediated, RecA-dependent, bet-hedging strategy in Burkholderia thailandensis.

ABSTRACT: Adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions is difficult to achieve. Phase variation mechanisms can overcome this difficulty by altering genomic architecture in a subset of individuals, creating a phenotypically heterogeneous population with subpopulations optimized to persist when conditions change, or are encountered, suddenly. We have identified a phase variation system in Burkholderia thailandensis that generates a genotypically and phenotypically heterogeneous population. Genetic analyses revealed that RecA-mediated homologous recombination between a pair of insertion sequence (IS) 2-like elements duplicates a 208.6 kb region of DNA that contains 157 coding sequences. RecA-mediated homologous recombination also resolves merodiploids, and hence copy number of the r

SUBMITTER: Lowrey LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9946442 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature