# BEHAVIOR OF BACTERIA--BIOCHEMISTRY AND GENETICS

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 1992 · $91,302

## Abstract

Motile bacteria are attracted by certain chemical and repelled by others,
a process known as chemotaxis.  The chemicals are sensed by some twenty
different chemoreceptors.  These send their information to one of four
different Methyl-accepting Chemotaxis Proteins, MCP's.  In a process known
as excitation, the MCP tells the flagella whether to rotate
counterclockwise, for attractants, or clockwise, for repellents.  Then
excitation is shut off (even though the attractant or repellent may still
be present) by a process known as adaptation:  This consists of a change
in the level of methylation of MCP.

The mechanism of excitation involves at least phosphorylation.  Work in
this and many other laboratories aim to uncover this mechanism further.

The objective of the present research proposal is to find out how bacteria
can modify their chemotactic behavior.  Another way of stating that is to
say:  Can bacteria "learn"?  Three kinds of learning - known to occur in
animals - will be studied:  habituation, sensitization, and conditioned
learning.  If bacteria can do any of these, then mutants will be isolated
that fail.  Then by use of these mutants the biochemistry of these
"learning" processes will be elucidated.  In the first, exploratory phase,
the methods used for measuring chemotaxis are the capillary assay, swarm
plates, a computerized assay, and use of tethered cells.

The mechanisms discovered here will hopefully have relevance to
understanding neurobiology, behavior, and learning in higher organisms,
including man.  Further, diseases of the nervous system can probably be
helped by research of this sort.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3124450
- **Project number:** 5R01AI008746-24
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **SAM.gov UEI:** LCLSJAGTNZQ7
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIUS ADLER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $91,302
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1978-12-01 → 1994-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3124450

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3124450, BEHAVIOR OF BACTERIA--BIOCHEMISTRY AND GENETICS (5R01AI008746-24). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3124450. Licensed CC0.

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