Molecular genetic switches control alternative gene expression pathways and are important for various developmental schemes in prokaryotes as well as in eukaryote systems. We are interested to elucidate the mechanisms behind the regulation of a molecular switch that controls the life modes of a temperate phage.

In contrast to general recombination, site-specific recombination does not require extensive regions of homology. The process is mediated by specific recombination enzymes that recognizes specific nucleotide sequences in the DNA targets, and is therefore limited to specific sites in the DNA. This can possibly be utilized as a tool to make directed insertions into the human genome for safe gene therapy.