Chemotaxis
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Chemotaxis is the movement of an organism or entity in response to a chemical stimulus. Somatic cells, bacteria, and other single-cell or multicellular organisms direct their movements according to ce
Capillary tube assay for chemotaxis. Motile prokaryotes sense chemicals in their environment and change their motility accordingly. Absent chemicals, movement is completely random. When an attractant or repellent is present, runs become longer and tumbles become less frequent. The result is net movement towards or away from the chemical (i.e., up or down the chemical gradient). The net movement can be seen in the beaker, where the bacteria accumulate around the origin of the attractant, and away from the origin of the repellent.
Phenol
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Phenol is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula C6H5OH. It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile and can catch fire.
Chemotaxis
…is important for bacteria to find food (e.g., glucose) by swimming toward the highest concentration of food molecules, or to flee from poisons (e.g., phenol). In multicellular organisms, chemotaxis is critical to early development (e.g., movement of sperm towards the egg during fertilization) and development…
Phenol 2 grams
Amine to phenol
Bottle of Calvert's phenol antiseptic, Thackray Museum of Medicine