As single-celled organisms, bacteria must constantly adapt to changing environmental conditions. Both pathogenic and environmental bacteria must cope with changes in nutritional availability, pH, temperature, concentrations of toxins, and more. Bacteria that are starving produce a molecule called ppGpp. When produced at high concentrations during starvation, ppGpp helps bacteria enter a hibernation-like state, wherein they stop growing and wait for conditions to improve. However, increasing evidence suggests that ppGpp is also important for cells to grow and adapt to conditions other than starvation. In the Anderson lab, we use genetics to understand the roles of ppGpp beyond starvation in the model bacterium Escherichia coli.