Cycles of famine and feast: the starvation and outgrowth strategies of a marineVibrio

Studies of starvation survival in non-differentiating bacteria have largely focused on physiological changes and regulatory aspects of a few master regulators such as the signal molecule ppGpp and the stationary phase alternative sigma factor, sigma S. Recent findings have implicated a series of novel key events for the entry as well as exit from starvation. The importance of alternative sigma factors other than sigma S is emerging. In addition, low molecular weight extracellular signals have been demonstrated to be essential for the induction and mediation of several adaptive responses. The importance of mRNA modification and stability for starvation survival as well as outgrowth is receiving renewedinterest. In this paper, we present the results obtained from studies of starvation survival and recovery ofVibrio sp. strain S14.