Free-living organisms frequently face shortage of macronutrients in natural environments, which are often poor in basic resources, such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Phosphorus occurs in nature in its maximal oxidized state (PO43-/Pi), which is also the preferred phosphorus source. Given the importance of Pi and the irregular availability of this nutrient in natural habitats, bacteria must be able to sense changes in Pi concentration in the environment and to modify the pattern of gene expression accordingly. C. violaceum is a free-living β-proteobacterium that inhabits the soil and water of tropical environments, and that thrives in the acidic and low-nutrient … Continue reading Bacterial adaptation to low-nutrient conditions