Imagine you're a researcher studying the mechanism of

Last updated: 7/31/2022

Imagine you're a researcher studying the mechanism of chemotaxis. You make a mutant strain of bacteria that lose the ability to spin their basal bodies in a clockwise direction. What effect would this have on your bacterial strain? They would be unable to travel in any direction at all, and would be stuck in one place indefinitely. They would carry out chemotaxis somewhat normally, but just a lot more slowly. They would end up travelling in a beneficial direction much more quickly than before. They would be unable to change direction, and therefore a lot less likely to get to where they want to go.