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A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients
09:28

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Published on: April 19, 2010

Response rescaling in bacterial chemotaxis.

Milena D Lazova1, Tanvir Ahmed, Domenico Bellomo

  • 1Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics, 1098 XG Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|August 3, 2011
PubMed
Summary

Escherichia coli bacteria use fold-change detection (FCD) to find nutrients, adapting their movement to chemical signals regardless of concentration. This robust sensing strategy ensures efficient spatial searches in their environment.

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Area of Science:

  • Cellular and Molecular Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Sensory systems adapt their response sensitivity to stimuli using recurring strategies.
  • Prokaryotic signaling networks, like that in Escherichia coli chemotaxis, exhibit dynamic response tuning during nutrient searches.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate response rescaling strategies in Escherichia coli chemotaxis.
  • To demonstrate that E. coli chemotaxis employs fold-change detection (FCD).
  • To confirm intensity-independent gradient responses at the behavioral level.

Main Methods:

  • In vivo fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements on immobilized E. coli.
  • Microfluidics-based assays for free-swimming E. coli.
  • Theoretical analysis to identify conditions for FCD.

Main Results:

  • E. coli chemotaxis network design follows the fold-change detection (FCD) strategy.
  • Cells respond to the shape of the input profile, not its absolute intensity.
  • Adaptation timescale is invariant across a 10,000-fold range of background concentrations.

Conclusions:

  • Fold-change detection (FCD) is a robust sensing strategy for spatial searches in bacteria.
  • This study provides a unique demonstration of FCD in a biological sensory system.
  • The findings support FCD as a fundamental principle in biological sensing.