Many species of bacteria are able to sense chemicals in their environment and move to more favorable surroundings. This process/called chemotaxis/has been studied for many years and has been the paradigm for understanding broad themes in signaling such as sensitivity/amplification/and integration.  We have obtained evidence for a previously unsuspected biochemical activity that would add an important new element to this paradigm. The proposed work will use biochemical approaches to make critical tests of the hypothesis.