Adaptation and optimal chemotactic strategy for E. coli

Extending the classic works of Berg and Purcell on the biophysics of bacterial chemotaxis, we find the optimal chemotactic strategy for the peritrichous bacterium E. coli in the high and low signal to noise ratio limits. The optimal strategy depends on properties of the environment and properties of the individual bacterium, and is therefore highly adaptive. We review experiments relevant to testing both the form of the proposed strategy and its adaptability, and propose extensions of them which could test the limits of the adaptability in this simplest sensory processing system. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society