Kinetic modeling of the chemotactic process in run-and-tumble bacteria.

Abstract

The chemotactic process of run-and-tumble bacteria results from modulating the tumbling rate in response to changes in chemoattractant gradients felt by the bacteria. The response has a characteristic memory time and is subject to important fluctuations. These ingredients are considered in a kinetic description of chemotaxis, allowing the computation of the stationary mobility and the relaxation times needed to reach the steady state. For large memory times, these relaxation times become large, implying that finite-time measurements give rise to nonmonotonic currents as a function of the imposed chemoattractant gradient, contrary to the stationary regime where the response is monotonic. The case of an inhomogeneous signal is analyzed. Contrary to the usual Keller-Segel model, the response is nonlocal, and the bacterial profile is smoothed with a characteristic length that grows with the memory time. Finally, the case of traveling signals is considered, where appreciable differences appear compared to memoryless chemotactic descriptions.