Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Chemotaxis in E. coli01:27

Chemotaxis in E. coli

1.3K
Chemotaxis in Escherichia coli is a sensory-driven motility mechanism that enables bacteria to navigate chemical gradients, moving toward beneficial environments while avoiding harmful conditions. This process relies on a signal transduction system integrating external chemical cues with flagellar motor control.Chemoreceptors and Signal DetectionE. coli detects chemical gradients through methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs), which are membrane-bound chemoreceptors that sense attractants...
1.3K
Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration01:21

Chemotaxis and Direction of Cell Migration

6.2K
Cells can detect chemical cues in their environment and reorganize the cytoskeleton to migrate toward them or away from them. This directional migration, called chemotaxis, is essential during embryogenesis and development, immune response, tissue repair and regeneration, and reproduction. These chemical cues can either attract or repel the cell's movement. For example, axon development is determined by a combination of chemoattractants and chemorepellents that direct the growing axon...
6.2K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Efflux pumps control intracellular drug-target kinetics by limiting rebinding in bacteria.

Science advances·2026
Same author

Dynamics of chemoreceptor activity with time-periodic attractant field.

The European physical journal. E, Soft matter·2025
Same author

Beyond Gatekeeping: Efflux Pumps Remotely Destabilize Cytoplasmic Drug-Target Interactions by Limiting Rebinding.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025
Same author

How Solvation Structures Define the Cryoprotection Efficiency of Ethylene Glycol.

Chemistry, an Asian journal·2025
Same author

Persistent exclusion process with time-periodic drive.

Physical review. E·2025
Same author

Run-and-tumble chemotaxis using reinforcement learning.

Physical review. E·2025
Same journal

Tension on dsDNA bound to ssDNA-RecA filaments may play an important role in driving efficient and accurate homology recognition and strand exchange.

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2016
Same journal

Publisher's Note: Amplitude-phase coupling drives chimera states in globally coupled laser networks [Phys. Rev. E 91, 040901(R) (2015)].

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2016
Same journal

Erratum: Shapes of sedimenting soft elastic capsules in a viscous fluid [Phys. Rev. E 92, 033003 (2015)].

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2016
Same journal

Erratum: Attenuation of excitation decay rate due to collective effect [Phys. Rev. E 90, 022142 (2014)].

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2016
Same journal

Publisher's Note: Role of connectivity and fluctuations in the nucleation of calcium waves in cardiac cells [Phys. Rev. E 92, 052715 (2015)].

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2016
Same journal

Publisher's Note: Lattice Boltzmann approach for complex nonequilibrium flows [Phys. Rev. E 92, 043308 (2015)].

Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics·2016
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 12, 2026

C. elegans Chemotaxis Assay
06:28

C. elegans Chemotaxis Assay

Published on: April 27, 2013

48.3K

Optimal search in E. coli chemotaxis.

Subrata Dev1, Sakuntala Chatterjee1

  • 1Department of Theoretical Sciences, S. N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Block JD, Sector III, Salt Lake, Kolkata 700098, India.

Physical Review. E, Statistical, Nonlinear, and Soft Matter Physics
|May 15, 2015
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

We found an optimal Gaussian width for E. coli chemotaxis, minimizing search time. This discovery enhances understanding of bacterial navigation and nutrient seeking efficiency.

More Related Videos

Generating Controlled, Dynamic Chemical Landscapes to Study Microbial Behavior
10:07

Generating Controlled, Dynamic Chemical Landscapes to Study Microbial Behavior

Published on: January 31, 2020

6.8K
A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients
09:28

A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients

Published on: April 19, 2010

12.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Apr 12, 2026

C. elegans Chemotaxis Assay
06:28

C. elegans Chemotaxis Assay

Published on: April 27, 2013

48.3K
Generating Controlled, Dynamic Chemical Landscapes to Study Microbial Behavior
10:07

Generating Controlled, Dynamic Chemical Landscapes to Study Microbial Behavior

Published on: January 31, 2020

6.8K
A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients
09:28

A Microfluidic Device for Quantifying Bacterial Chemotaxis in Stable Concentration Gradients

Published on: April 19, 2010

12.7K

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biophysics
  • Chemical Ecology

Background:

  • Bacterial chemotaxis is crucial for survival and nutrient acquisition.
  • Understanding Escherichia coli (E. coli) movement in dynamic chemical environments is key.
  • Nutrient diffusion and bacterial motion interact, influencing search efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the chemotaxis of a single E. coli bacterium in a diffusing Gaussian nutrient field.
  • To determine the average first passage time for E. coli to reach a high nutrient concentration region.
  • To identify if an optimal nutrient distribution exists for efficient bacterial search.

Main Methods:

  • Analytical calculations for a coarse-grained model of bacterial random walk.
  • Numerical simulations of a non-Markovian random walker representing E. coli.
  • Analysis of average first passage time under varying Gaussian concentration widths and initial positions.

Main Results:

  • An optimal Gaussian width was identified, minimizing the average first passage time for E. coli.
  • This optimal width enhances the efficiency of the bacterial search process.
  • Results were consistent for both deterministic and stochastic initial positions of the bacterium.
  • Simulations also covered scenarios with comparable diffusion and motion time scales.

Conclusions:

  • The study reveals a critical role for nutrient gradient width in bacterial chemotaxis efficiency.
  • An optimal nutrient landscape can significantly improve E. coli's ability to locate resources.
  • These findings provide insights into bacterial navigation strategies in complex environments.