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Bacterial behaviour

Nature volume 254, pages 389–392 (1975)Cite this article

Abstract

Bacteria swim by rotating their flagella. They back up or choose new directions at random by changing the direction of the rotation. The probability of such changes is biased by sensory reception. The bias depends on the way in which the intensity of the stimulus changes with time, so that the bacteria tend to swim up a gradient of attract ant and down a gradient of repellent chemicals.

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  1. Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 80302

    Howard C. Berg

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Berg, H. Bacterial behaviour. Nature 254, 389–392 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/254389a0

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