title: Frequency-dependent Escherichia coli chemotaxis behavior.
abstract: We study Escherichia coli chemotaxis behavior in environments with spatially and temporally varying attractant sources by developing a unique microfluidic system. Our measurements reveal a frequency-dependent chemotaxis behavior. At low frequency, the E. coli population oscillates in synchrony with the attractant. In contrast, in fast-changing environments, the population response becomes smaller and out of phase with the attractant waveform. These observations are inconsistent with the well-known Keller-Segel chemotaxis equation. A new continuum model is proposed to describe the population level behavior of E. coli chemotaxis based on the underlying pathway dynamics. With the inclusion of a finite adaptation time and an attractant consumption rate, our model successfully explains the microfluidic experiments at different stimulus frequencies.
authors.affiliation: Center for Microfluidic and Nanotechnology, The State Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructures and Mesoscopic Physics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Guangwei
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Si
authors.forename: Nianpei
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Tailin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Zhuoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Chunxiong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Yuhai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tu
mesh_terms: D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D002633:Chemotaxis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques; D008954:Models, Biological; D016202:N-Methylaspartate / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; D016202:N-Methylaspartate; C037699:2-methylaspartic acid