The role of tumbling frequency and persistence in optimal run-and-tumble chemotaxis

Abstract

One of simplest examples of navigation found in nature is run-and-tumble chemotaxis. Tumbles reorient cells randomly, and cells can drift towards attractants or away from repellents by biasing the frequency of these events. The post-tumble swimming directions are typically correlated with those prior, as measured by the variance of the reorientation angle distribution. This variance can range from large, in the case of bacteria, to so small that tumble events are imperceptible as observed in choanoflagellates. This raises the question of optimality: why is such a range of persistence observed in nature? Here we study persistent run-and-tumble dynamics, focusing first on the optimization of the linearized chemotactic response within the 2D parameter space of tumble frequency and angular persistence. Although an optimal persistence does exist for a given tumble frequency, in the full parameter space there is a continuum of optimal solutions. Introducing finite tumble times that depend on the persistence can change this picture, illuminating one possible method for selecting tumble persistence based on species-specific reorientation dynamics. Moving beyond linear theory we find that optimal chemotactic strengths exist, and that these maximize reaction when swimming in a wrong direction but have little or no reaction when swimming with even the slightest projection along the chemoattractant gradient.