Engineering Commons^™

Adaptation And Robustness In A Chemotaxis Network, Beini Chen, Steve Abel

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Adaptation is a behavior of biological systems in which a sustained change in input signal leads to a transient output response that returns to the pre--‐stimulated output level. Cells use adaptation to maintain sensitivity to the changes in their environment and to remain in homeostasis while the input signal is perturbed. Signaling networks in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells demonstrate adaptation, which is a common feature of chemotaxis, a signal transduction process that enables cells to sense chemical gradients in their extracellular environment and to adjust their movement in response. In the case of Escherichia coli, the bacteria swim in …