Abstract
The clockwise (CW) or counterclockwise (CCW) spinning of a bacterial flagellar motor is controlled by the concentration of a phosphorylated protein, CheY-P. Representing the stochastic switching behavior of the motor by a dynamical two-state (CW and CCW) model, whose energy levels fluctuate in time () as fluctuates, we show that temporal fluctuations in can generate a power-law distribution for the durations of the CCW states, in agreement with recent experiments. Correlations between the duration times of nearby CCW (CW) intervals are predicted by our model, and shown to exist in the experimental data and to affect the power spectrum for motor switching.
- Received 27 January 2005
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.208101
©2005 American Physical Society