誘引物質まわりの細菌単体の挙動計測

抄録

Many bacteria are changed the frequency of tumbles depending on the environment, and it indicate overall movements towards attractants (chemotaxis). In this study, we aim to clarify the relationship between the runs-and-tumbles motion and the chemical environment. Microinjection was employed to observe a single cell of Salmonella typhimurium SJW 1103 swimming around a capillary which contains chemo-attractant, L-serine.

Each cell clearly showed chemotactic behavior: motion of each cell is limited within the range of about 100 micrometers from the tip of the capillary, and mean square displacement of the cell converges to a corresponding value. We have been looking for the reason why the motion is confined. No difference in run duration, the period between two consecutive tumbles, was observed between the motions approaching and leaving the attractant source. This implies that other factors in runs-and-tumbles motion determine the characteristics of the chemotactic behavior.