Performance Analysis of Chemotaxis Controllers: Which has Better Chemotaxis Controller, Escherichia coli or...

Chemotaxis is the biological phenomenon in which organisms move to a more favorable location in an environment with a chemical attractant or repellent. Since chemotaxis is a typical example of the environmental response of organisms, it is a fundamental topic in biology and related fields. We discuss the performance of the internal controllers that generate chemotaxis. We first propose performance indices to evaluate the controllers. Based on these indices, we evaluate the performance of two controller models of Escherichia coli and Paramecium caudatum. As a result, it is disclosed that the E. coli-type controller achieves chemotaxis quickly but roughly, whereas the P. caudatum-type controller achieves it slowly but precisely. This result will be a biological contribution from a control theoretic point of view.