Chemotaxis: the role of internal delays

When exposed to certain chemoattractants, bacteria like Escherichia coli move up the concentration gradient[Delta inverted]c with a velocity kappa[delta inverted]c. Microscopically, E. coli moves at constant speed when it's flagellum is rotating counter-clockwise (ccw) and tumbles when the rota...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European biophysics journal 2004-12, Vol.33 (8), p.691-693
Main Author: de Gennes, P-G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological Clocks - physiology
Chemotaxis - physiology
Computer Simulation
E coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - physiology
Flagella - physiology
Models, Biological
Molecular Motor Proteins - physiology
Studies
Time Factors
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Summary:When exposed to certain chemoattractants, bacteria like Escherichia coli move up the concentration gradient[Delta inverted]c with a velocity kappa[delta inverted]c. Microscopically, E. coli moves at constant speed when it's flagellum is rotating counter-clockwise (ccw) and tumbles when the rotation is clockwise (cw). The lifetime of a ccw interval, tau+, is a function of the concentration c( t') experienced at earlier times. The corresponding response function was measured long ago by Berg and co-workers. We present here a detailed description of the motion taking place during one ccw interval. This gives an explicit formula relating the chemotactic coefficient kappa to the response function; the formula has some surprising features.
ISSN:0175-7571
1432-1017
DOI:10.1007/s00249-004-0426-z