Many bacteria spend most of their time in environments with limited nutrients and have evolved a variety of mechanisms for survival under such conditions. We are interested in identifying the genes involved in these mechanisms. To this end, we used a genetic strategy to identify genes induced during stationary phase in the soil bacterium Acinetobacter. Stationary phase occurs when a culture of bacteria exhausts a required nutrient in its medium. The vast majority of cells in the population dies, but the survivors adapt to this nutrient deprivation. We have isolated 123 clones that have a lacZ reporter cassette inserted into a chromosomal gene that is induced by stationary phase conditions. We have sequenced the DNA upstream of lacZ in 37 of these isolates and identified the open reading frames containing the cassettes. One expected group of genes that we have found is that involved in the stringent response. Others include genes important for resistance to oxidative stress, formation of extracellular structures, and for membrane proteins. In addition to characterizing the remaining clones, we have begun studies to determine if these induced genes are required for survival during starvation.