Journal article
Swimming towards each other: the role of chemotaxis in bacterial interactions
JR Seymour, DR Brumley, R Stocker, JB Raina
Trends in Microbiology | Published : 2024
Abstract
Chemotaxis allows microorganisms to direct movement in response to chemical stimuli. Bacteria use this behaviour to develop spatial associations with animals and plants, and even larger microbes. However, current theory suggests that constraints imposed by the limits of chemotactic sensory systems will prevent sensing of chemical gradients emanating from cells smaller than a few micrometres, precluding the utility of chemotaxis in interactions between individual bacteria. Yet, recent evidence has revealed surprising levels of bacterial chemotactic precision, as well as a role for chemotaxis in metabolite exchange between bacterial cells. If indeed widespread, chemotactic sensing between bact..
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Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This research was funded by Australian Research Council grants DP200100919 and DP230100127 to J.R.S, J.-B.R., and R.S. J.-B.R. was supported by an Australian Research Council Fellowship FT210100100, and D.R.B. was supported by an Australian Research Council Fellowship DE180100911. R.S. acknowledges support from a grant by the Simons Foundation (542395) as part of the Principles of Microbial Ecosystems Collaborative (PriME), a Gordon and Betty Moore Symbiosis in Aquatic Ecosystems Initiative Investigator Award (GBMF9197; https://doi.org/10.37807/GBMF9197) and a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (315230_176189) . The artwork in Figures 1 and 2 was produced by Philippe Plateaux and is used with his permission.