Bacterial chemotaxis and the question of gain

Abstract

Chemoreceptors in Escherichia coli are coupled to the flagella by a labile phosphorylated intermediate, CheYsimilar toP. Its activity can be inferred from the rotational bias of flagellar motors, but motor response is stochastic and limited to a narrow physiological range. Here we use fluorescence resonance energy transfer to monitor interactions of CheYsimilar toP with its phosphatase, CheZ, that reveal changes in the activity of the receptor kinase, CheA, resulting from the addition of attractants or repellents. Analyses of cheR and/or cheB mutants, defective in receptor methylation/demethylation, show that response sensitivity depends on the activity of CheB and the level of receptor modification. In cheRcheB mutants, the concentration of attractant that generates a half-maximal response is equal to the dissociation constant of the receptor. In wild-type cells, it is 35 times smaller. This amplification, together with the ultrasensitivity of the flagellar motor, explains previous observations of high chemotactic gain.