chemotaxis

noun

che·​mo·​tax·​is ˌkē-mō-ˈtak-səs 

: orientation or movement of an organism or cell in relation to chemical agents

Examples of chemotaxis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Notably, the peptide has been found to contribute to wound healing and promotes chemotaxis of myoblasts, accelerating wound closure. —The Salt Lake Tribune, 16 Aug. 2023

Roundworms rely on chemotaxis to find food, using taste and smell cues. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 Apr. 2023

This strategy — called gradient search or chemotaxis — works quite well if the odor molecules are distributed in a well-mixed fog, which is the end stage of a process known as diffusion. —Dana MacKenzie, Discover Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023

Instead, some bacteria raced through the maze substantially more quickly than others, largely because of varying aptitude for moving toward higher concentrations of food, a process called chemotaxis. —Quanta Magazine, 4 Sep. 2019

Tackling the traveling salesman problem with chemotaxis is a nice example of when the suboptimal is optimal, says Bartumeus. —Rachel Ehrenberg, WIRED, 11 Apr. 2011

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Chemotaxis, from chemo- chemo- + -taxis -taxis

Note: The German term was introduced by the botanist and plant physiologist Wilhelm Pfeffer (1845-1920) in "Über chemotaktische Bewegungen von Bakterien, Flagellaten und Volvocineen," Untersuchungen aus dem Botanischen Institut zu Tübingen, Band 2, Heft 3 (1888), p. 583. In an earlier publication in the same journal (Band 1, Heft 3 [1884], p. 474) Pfeffer used the form Chymitaxis.

First Known Use

circa 1887, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chemotaxis

noun

che·​mo·​tax·​is ˌkē-mō-ˈtak-səs 

: movement or positioning of cells or organisms in relation to a chemical

Medical Definition

chemotaxis

noun

che·​mo·​tax·​is -ˈtak-səs 

plural chemotaxes -ˌsēz 

: orientation or movement of an organism or cell in relation to chemical agents