Abstract
B. subtilis, like E. coli and S. typhimurium, carries out chemotaxis by modulating the relative frequency of smooth swimming and tumbling. Like these enteric bacteria, methionine auxotrophs starved for methionine show an abnormally long period of smooth swimming after addition of attractant. This 'hypersensitive' state requires an hour of starvation for its genesis, which can be hastened by including alanine, a strong attractant, in starvation medium. Susceptibility to repellent, which causes transient tumbling when added, if anything, increases slightly by starvation for methionine. The results are interpreted by postulating the existence of a methionine derived structure that hastens recovery of attractant stimulated bacteria back to normal.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1005-1012 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of bacteriology |
| Volume | 125 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - 1976 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology