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Updated: Aug 14, 2026

Chemotactic Response of Marine Micro-Organisms to Micro-Scale Nutrient Layers
Published on: May 28, 2007
Motility and thermotactic responses of Thermotoga maritima
M F Gluch1, D Typke, W Baumeister
1Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.
Abstract:
Thermotoga maritima, a thermophilic eubacterium, is motile at temperatures ranging from 50 to 105 degrees C. The cells are propelled by a single flagellum which most of the time spins clockwise. Changes in the swimming direction ("tumbles") are achieved by short reversals of the direction of filament rotation. The average speed of swimming cells depends on the temperature, reaching a maximum value of about 60 microns/s at 85 degrees C. The cells show a thermotactic response to temporal temperature changes. When the temperature is raised, the rate of tumbles is increased, while decreasing temperature decreases the tumbling rate.
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