Bacterial chemotaxis is a classical subject: our knowledge of its molecular pathway has grown very detailed, and experimental observations, as well as mathematical models of the dynamics of chemotactic populations, have a history of several decades. This should not lead to the conclusion that only minor details are left to be understood. Indeed, it is believed that bacterial chemotaxis is under selection for efficiency, yet the underlying functional forces remain largely unknown. These aspects are discussed here by the presentation of illustrative examples related to the role of adaptation and signal integration. Both are expected to be important in ecologically relevant conditions, where chemotaxis should be strongly coupled with metabolism and growth, due to the presence of diverse chemoattractant cues and their active consumption by multiple types of bacteria competing for growth.

细菌趋化性是一门经典的学科：我们对它的分子途径的了解已经非常详尽，并且实验观察以及趋化性种群动力学的数学模型已有几十年的历史。这不应得出仅需细微理解的结论。确实，据信细菌趋化性正处于为效率而选择中，但是基本的功能力仍是很大程度上未知的。这些方面在本文中通过与自适应和信号集成的作用有关的说明性示例的介绍进行讨论。预计两者在与生态有关的条件下都很重要，在这些条件下趋化性应与新陈代谢和生长密切相关，