Regulatory networks enable bacteria to adapt to almost every environmental niche on Earth. Regulation is achieved by a network of interactions among diverse types of molecules, including DNA, RNA, proteins, and metabolites. The primary role of regulatory networks in bacteria is to control the response to environmental changes, such as nutritional status and environmental stress. A complex organization of networks allows the organism to coordinate and integrate multiple environmental signals. This book contains authoritative, up-to-date reviews of the current research and theories on regulatory networks in bacteria. The book includes critical reviews written by the leading research scientists in this topical field. The contributors fully explore various regulatory networks, discuss variations of common themes, and provide fresh insights into bacterial regulatory mechanisms. Topics include: the sigma network in Escherichia coli * the control of bacterial virulence * ECF sigma factors * quorum sensing * cyclic di-GMP * RNA-mediated regulation * the H-NS regulator * two-component regulatory systems * bacterial chemotaxis * the regulation of iron homeostasis * anaerobic regulatory networks * bacterial bistable regulatory networks * the evolution of transcription factors and regulatory networks. This book will be essential reading for everyone interested in gene expression and the regulation in bacteria. It is a recommended text for all microbiology libraries.