Chemotaxis
Directed movement of an organism or cell in response to chemical gradients—toward attractants (positive chemotaxis) or away from repellents (negative chemotaxis).
Used in the Books
This term appears in 3 chapters:
"...t permits different expressions (business models, strategies, structures) depending on conditions. But plasticity atrophies if you don't use it. Chemotaxis: Navigating Invisible Gradients Return to E. coli swimming through your gut. It has one goal: find glucose."
"... When food is depleted and cell density is high, amoebae secrete cyclic AMP (cAMP), which acts as a quorum signal. cAMP attracts neighboring amoebae (chemotaxis), creating aggregation streams. The aggregate forms a multicellular slug that migrates and then differentiates into a fruiting body (some cells becom..."
"... scarce, cells begin secreting cyclic AMP (cAMP) as a chemical signal. Neighboring cells detect the cAMP gradient, move toward higher concentrations (chemotaxis), and themselves secrete cAMP, amplifying the signal. Through this simple positive feedback loop, tens of thousands of individual cells aggregate int..."
Biological Context
E. coli perform chemotaxis using a 'biased random walk': when moving toward food, they suppress tumbling and run longer; when moving away, they tumble more frequently to change direction. Immune cells use chemotaxis to find infection sites. Sperm use chemotaxis to find eggs.
Business Application
Corporate chemotaxis: moving resources toward opportunity signals and away from threats. Startups pivoting toward product-market fit are performing chemotaxis—sensing market response and adjusting direction. Like E. coli, the search is partly random but biased toward positive signals.