Starvation, cessation of growth and bacterial aging.

Several components of different Escherichia coli regulons are integrated to prevent premature oxidative deterioration of starving cells. The interconnected regulation of these regulons encompasses oxidation signalling, sigma factor competition, and possibly also the use of sigma factor inhibitors. Recent data demonstrate that stasis-induced oxidation targets both DNA and protein and that some enzymes are specifically susceptible to oxidative attack.