Repulsion from slow-diffusing nutrients improves microbial chemotaxis towards moving sources (opens in new tab)

Chemotaxis, or the following of chemical concentration gradients, is essential for microbes to locate nutrients. However, microbes often display paradoxical behaviors, such as Escherichia coli being repelled by several amino acids. Here, we explore chemotaxis towards a moving source and demonstrate that when multiple nutrients are released from the source repulsion from certain nutrients actually improves chemotaxis towards the source. Because a moving source leaves most of the nutrient plume...