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

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 that generates a genotypically and phenotypically heterogeneous population.