TRAVELING-WAVE CHEMOTAXIS

A simple model is studied for the chemotactic movement of biological c ells in the presence of a periodic chemical wave. It incorporates the feature of adaptation that may play an important role in allowing for ''rectified'' chemotaxis: motion opposite the direction of wave propag ation. The conditions under which such rectification occurs are elucid ated in terms of the form and speed of the chemical wave, the velocity of chemotaxis, and the time scale for adaptation. An experimental tes t of the adaptation dynamics is proposed.