Affiliation:
1. Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Department, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Chemotaxis affords motile cells the ability to rapidly respond to environmental challenges by navigating cells to niches favoring growth. Such a property results from the activities of dedicated signal transduction systems on the motility apparatus, such as flagella, type IV pili, and gliding machineries. Once cells have reached a niche with favorable conditions, they often stop moving and aggregate into complex communities termed biofilms. An intermediate and reversible stage that precedes commitment to permanent adhesion often includes transient cell-cell contacts between motile cells. Chemotaxis signaling has been implicated in modulating the transient aggregation of motile cells. Evidence further indicates that chemotaxis-dependent transient cell aggregation events are behavioral responses to changes in metabolic cues that temporarily prohibit permanent attachment by maintaining motility and chemotaxis. This minireview discusses a few examples illustrating the role of chemotaxis signaling in the initiation of cell-cell contacts in bacteria moving via flagella, pili, or gliding.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Molecular Biology,Microbiology
Cited by
53 articles.
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