Furthermore, a relatively high proportion of the downstream specialised TFs autoactivate themselves (see below), a feature that is rare at the level of the whole transcriptional network. In addition, we could identify 105 multi-element circuits in the transcriptional regulatory network involving 2 to 14 different elements (including transcription and sigma factors, see Fig. 3 and supplementary material for the complete list of circuits). Interestingly, the information fluxes inside these circuits follow a frequent route in the network with the order CsgD > Cspa > HNS > GadX > RpoS > IHF. From IHF the regulatory flow diverge in two main directions: IHF > RpoH > RpoD and IHF > FIS > CRP. In line with this observation, CRP and RpoD are the major distributors, whereas CsgD and GadX are the main collectors of information. These multi-element circuits inside the cross-regulatory network are novel observations. The functional relevance of these regulatory structures remains to be assessed experimentally. Tentatively, these circuits may implement a feedback between the presence of different stresses and the basic machinery for replication and growth.