Final answer:
The FALSE statement regarding the motility of E. coli bacteria by chemotaxis is that it allows the bacteria to move faster. Chemotaxis involves a change in movement pattern towards an attractant, not an increase in speed, facilitated by the configuration of the flagella.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement regarding the motility of E. coli bacteria by chemotaxis that is FALSE is that chemotaxis enables the bacteria to move faster. While chemotaxis involves a directed movement towards higher concentrations of an attractant, it doesn't necessarily increase the organism's speed. This process involves runs and tumbles, with bacteria extending their runs and reducing their tumbles in the presence of an attractant, which results in a directional movement towards the attractant. The frequency of tumbles is decreased to allow longer runs, but this adaptation doesn't directly affect the bacteria's speed. Bacteria like E. coli rely on flagella to move; the configuration of these flagella—whether it be monotrichous, amphitrichous, lophotrichous , or peritrichous—affects their movement patterns.
For bacteria, to exhibit motility, the presence of flagella is critical. Bacteria can respond to various environmental signals, such as chemicals (chemotaxis), light (phototaxis), or magnetic fields (magnetotaxis). The flagella rotate to propel the bacteria; counterclockwise rotation for runs and clockwise for tumbles. An additional point of interest is the discovery of bacterial genes that encode proteins similar to eukaryotic actin and tubulin, indicating a primitive form of a cytoskeleton in prokaryotes.