Relation of chemotactic response to the amount of receptor: evidence for different efficiencies of signal transduction.

We determined the content of galactose-glucose-, maltose-, and ribose-binding proteins in cells of Escherichia coli K-12 grown in a variety of media and also measured the respective transport and chemotactic activities that depend on those binding proteins. Correlation of the level of induction of a particular binding protein with the extent of tactic activity mediated by that protein indicates that the magnitude of the tactic response to a particular stimulating compound is a direct function of the number of receptors per cell. In contrast, comparison of the magnitudes of response to substances recognized by independent receptors indicates that some stimulus-receptor complexes are more effective in eliciting tactic responses than are others. Thus, the magnitude of response to any particular stimulating compound is a function both of the number of receptors per cell and of the effectiveness of the stimulus-receptor complex. Considerations of available information about the tactic response to maltose suggest that the effectiveness of a stimulus-receptor complex is related to the transducer with which the receptor interacts. The tar product appears to be a relatively effective transducer of the signals it accepts from receptors for aspartate, alpha-methylaspartate, and maltose, whereas the trg product appears to be a relatively ineffective transducer of signals it accepts from receptors for galactose and ribose.