Swimming behavior tumble

Standard models for bacterial chemotaxis are based on the behavior of nonmarine enteric bacteria.196 Chemotactic behavior of nonmarine bacteria consists of discrete steps of short runs interspersed with tumbling, resulting in the random repositioning of the cells, i.e., the classical random walk. As a consequence, the net speed up a chemical gradient via the random-walk response is only a few percent of the swimming speed. The relatively slow speed and mode of chemotaxis displayed by nonmarine enteric bacteria would restrict the ability of marine bacteria to respond to chemical gradients in the sea and hence cast doubt on the importance of chemotaxis for bacteria in turbulent marine environments. 

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