Repellent Taxis in Response to Nickel Ion Requires neither Ni2+ Transport nor the Periplasmic NikA Binding Protein

Ni2+ and Co2+ are sensed as repellents by the Escherichia coli Tar chemoreceptor. The periplasmic Ni2+ binding protein, NikA, has been suggested to sense Ni2+. We show here that neither NikA nor the membrane-bound NikB and NikC proteins of the Ni2+ transport system are required for repellent taxis in response to Ni2+.