Ordal G W, Villani D P
J Gen Microbiol. 1980 Jun;118(2):471-8. doi: 10.1099/00221287-118-2-471.
Bacillus subtilis alternately swims smoothly and tumbles; when administered repellent it only tumbles, but later resumes normal swimming and tumbling. Repellents of B. subtilis include membrane-active agents like uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation and local anaesthetics and have previously been found to act in a fundamentally different way compared with attractants. It has been suggested previously that uncouplers act as repellents as a result of their ability to depolarize the membrane and that depolarization might effect flagellar function by causing a flux of Ca2+ into the cell. However, we found that there is no correlation between membrane depolarization and chemotaxis and no detectable flux of Ca2+ following tactic stimulation by uncouplers. Experiments with analogues of the uncoupler pentachlorophenol, all of which are weaker acids than pentachlorophenol, indicated that the anionic form of the uncoupler is the potent form and we propose that it binds to a certain membrane protein to cause release into the cytoplasm of the substance (ion, metabolite or protein) that controls tumbling frequency. Adaptation is assumed to occur when this excess is removed by active transport or metabolism.
枯草芽孢杆菌交替进行平稳游动和翻滚运动；当施加驱避剂时，它只会翻滚，但随后会恢复正常的游动和翻滚。枯草芽孢杆菌的驱避剂包括膜活性剂，如氧化磷酸化解偶联剂和局部麻醉剂，此前已发现它们与引诱剂的作用方式有根本不同。此前有人提出，解偶联剂作为驱避剂起作用是由于它们使膜去极化的能力，而去极化可能通过导致Ca2+流入细胞来影响鞭毛功能。然而，我们发现膜去极化与趋化性之间没有相关性，并且在解偶联剂进行趋化刺激后也没有检测到Ca2+的通量。使用解偶联剂五氯苯酚的类似物进行的实验表明，所有这些类似物都是比五氯苯酚酸性弱的酸，表明解偶联剂的阴离子形式是有效形式，我们提出它与某种膜蛋白结合，导致控制翻滚频率的物质（离子、代谢物或蛋白质）释放到细胞质中。当这种过量物质通过主动运输或代谢被清除时，假定发生适应。
