Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Following the Dynamics of Structural Variants in Experimentally Evolved Populations
Published on: February 3, 2023
Re-examining the role and random nature of phase variation
1Department of Biology, Immunology and Infection Unit, University of York and the Hull York Medical School, York, UK.
Abstract:
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.
Related Concept Videos
Conservative Site-specific Recombination and Phase Variation
The recognition sites for Cre recombinase called LoxP...
Phase Changes
A substance melts or freezes at a temperature called its melting point and boils or condenses at its boiling point. These temperatures depend on pressure. High pressure favors the denser form of the substance, so typically, high pressure...
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions
Variability: Analysis
The range is a simple measure of variability, indicating the difference between the highest and...
Random and Systematic Errors
