On Tuesday March 16, 2004, 4:00 PM Barus & Holley (Room 168) Dave De Rosier (Brandeis University) presented a talk entitled:

"How bacteria sense and move"

as part of the Seminar Series

"Frontiers in the Interaction Between Physics and Biology"

Abstract:

Bacteria respond to gradients of light, chemicals, and even the magnetic poles of the earth. Arrays of the signaling proteins comprise the sensory machinery, whose output is a phosphorylated small protein. This protein, when phosphorylated, binds to the rotary motor, biasing it to switch from CCW to CW rotation and thereby causing a change in behavior from smooth swimming to tumbling. The result of controlling the probability swimming versus tumbling is to generate a biased random walk up or down a gradient. We will take a look at the structures of the sensory apparatus and the flagellum, the propulsion system.