The asymmetric flagellar distribution and motility of Escherichia coli

Rod-shaped bacteria such as Escherichia coli divide by binary fission. They inherit an old pole from the parent cell. The new pole is recently derived from the septum. Because the chemoreceptor accumulates linearly with time on the cell pole, the old pole carries more receptors than does the new pole. Here, further evidence is provided that the old pole appears more frequently at the rear when bacteria swim. This phenomenon had been observed, yet not extensively explored in the literature. The biased swimming orientation is the consequence of the asymmetric distribution of flagella over the cell surface. On about 75% of cells, there are more flagella on the old-pole half of the cell than on the new-pole half, regardless of growth conditions. Most flagella are lateral, and few were found on the cell pole per se. The asymmetric flagellar distribution makes cells more efficient in chemotaxis. Both swimming orientation and receptor localization are components of chemotaxis, by which bacteria follow environmental stimuli. If unipolarly flagellated cells, such as the swarmer cells of Caulobacter crescentus, are regarded as 100% polar with respect to chemotaxis, E. coli is about 75%. The difference is quantitative. The peritrichous flagellation might enhance the motility and chemotaxis in the viscous environment of enteric bacteria.