Acinetobacter baylyi starvation-induced genes identified through incubation in long-term stationary phase.

Acinetobacter species encounter cycles of feast and famine in nature. We show that populations of Acinetobacter baylyi strain ADP1 remain dynamic for 6 weeks in batch culture. We created a library of lacZ reporters inserted into SalI sites in the genome and then isolated 30 genes with lacZ insertions whose expression was induced by starvation during long-term stationary phase compared with their expression during exponential growth. The genes encode metabolic, gene expression, DNA maintenance, envelope, and conserved hypothetical proteins.