Taxis | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

A taxis (; : taxes ˈtæksi:z) is the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus such as light or the presence of food. Taxes are innate behavioural responses. A taxis differs from a tropism (turning response, often growth towards or away from a stimulus) in that in the case of taxis, the organism has motility and demonstrates guided movement towards or away from the stimulus source. It is sometimes distinguished from a kinesis, a non-directional change in activity in response to a stimulus. Taxes are classified based on the type of stimulus, and on whether the organism's response is to move towards or away from the stimulus. If the organism moves towards the stimulus the taxis are positive, while if it moves away the taxis are negative. For example, flagellate protozoans of the genus Euglena move towards a light source. This reaction or behavior is called positive phototaxis since phototaxis refers to a response to light and the organism is moving towards the stimulus. Many types of taxis have been identified, including: Aerotaxis (stimulation by oxygen) Anemotaxis (by wind) Barotaxis (by pressure) Chemotaxis or "gradient search" (by chemicals) Durotaxis (by stiffness) Electrotaxis or galvanotaxis (by electric current) Gravitaxis or geotaxis (by gravity) Hydrotaxis (by moisture) Magnetotaxis (by magnetic field) Phototaxis (by light) Rheotaxis (by fluid flow) Thermotaxis (by changes in temperature) Thigmotaxis (by physical contact) Depending on the type of sensory organs present, a taxis can be classified as a klinotaxis, where an organism continuously samples the environment to determine the direction of a stimulus; a tropotaxis, where bilateral sense organs are used to determine the stimulus direction; and a telotaxis, where a single organ suffices to establish the orientation of the stimulus. There are five types of taxes based on the movement of organisms. Klinotaxis occurs in organisms with receptor cells but not paired receptor organs. The cells for reception may be located all over the body, but often towards the anterior side.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related publications (6)

Related units (1)

Related concepts (6)

Related lectures (2)

Bacteria

Bacteria (bækˈtɪəriə; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among the first life forms to appear on Earth, and are present in most of its habitats. Bacteria inhabit soil, water, acidic hot springs, radioactive waste, and the deep biosphere of Earth's crust. Bacteria play a vital role in many stages of the nutrient cycle by recycling nutrients and the fixation of nitrogen from the atmosphere.

Phototaxis

Phototaxis is a kind of taxis, or locomotory movement, that occurs when a whole organism moves towards or away from a stimulus of light. This is advantageous for phototrophic organisms as they can orient themselves most efficiently to receive light for photosynthesis. Phototaxis is called positive if the movement is in the direction of increasing light intensity and negative if the direction is opposite. Two types of positive phototaxis are observed in prokaryotes.

Motility

Motility is the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy. Motility, the ability of an organism to move independently, using metabolic energy, can be contrasted with sessility, the state of organisms that do not possess a means of self-locomotion and are normally immobile. Motility differs from mobility, the ability of an object to be moved. The term vagility encompasses both motility and mobility; sessile organisms including plants and fungi often have vagile parts such as fruits, seeds, or spores which may be dispersed by other agents such as wind, water, or other organisms.

Bacteria are ubiquitously found in all sorts of environment. They're found in the ocean, soil, or even in our guts or on our skin. Independently of their niche, they can transition from a planktonic state were they freely swim in an aqueous environment to ...

EPFL2022

High light quantity suppresses locomotion in symbiotic Aiptasia

Anders Meibom, Nils Rädecker, Claudia Isabella Pogoreutz

Many cnidarians engage in endosymbioses with microalgae of the family Symbiodiniaceae. In this association, the fitness of the cnidarian host is closely linked to the photosynthetic performance of its microalgal symbionts. Phototaxis may enable semi-sessil ...

2022

Generalized receptor law governs phototaxis in the phytoplankton Euglena gracilis

Andrea Rinaldo, Andrea Giometto, Amos Maritan, Florian Altermatt

Phototaxis, the process through which motile organisms direct their swimming toward or away from light, is implicated in key ecological phenomena (including algal blooms and diel vertical migration) that shape the distribution, diversity, and productivity ...

Natl Acad Sciences2015

Mechanomicrobiology: Bacterial Response to Forces

Explores how bacteria respond to mechanical forces, covering biomechanics, swimming motility, biofilm formation, and mechanosensing.

Plant Tropism: Hormonal Theories and Growth Curvature

Delves into plant tropism theories, hormonal influences, and growth mechanisms, with applications in robotics and nerve development.