A feasibility analysis of bacterial chemotaxis under the influence of external noise

J Biochem Tech

Volume 2, Issue 1, Dec 2009, Page No. 119-125

A feasibility analysis of bacterial chemotaxis under the influence of external noise

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Pratap R Patnaik

*Institute of Microbial Technology, Sector 39-A, Chandigarh-160 036, India

Received: 18 August 2009 / Received in revised form: 18 August 2009, Accepted: 31 August 2009, Published online: 22 September 2009

Abstract

Bacteria moving in response to chemical attractants are subject to
noise from the environment in addition to that within the cells.
Environmental noise is observed typically through fluctuations in
the concentrations of the chemoattractant. Interactions between two
or more sources of noise may upset the chemotactic motility of the
cells. This possibility is investigated here for Escherichia coli
through a pair of conditions derived earlier. These conditions relate
the tumbling time, the sensing time and the adaptation time of the
cells. It is observed that chemotaxis is not feasible if the normalized
variance of the external noise exceeds a critical value. This critical
value does not depend on the expression of CheR, a key protein in
the chemosensory system, and it agrees with similar values reported
by others for intra-cellular noise. These observations indicate that
stochastic resonance may be a prime factor enhancing chemotaxis in
the presence of noise.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; chemotaxis; external noise; time constants; feasibility; stochastic resonance

*Tel: 0091 172 2690223, Fax: 0091 172 2693132

J Biochem Tech

Volume 2, Issue 1, Dec 2009, Page No. 119-125




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