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Steps in the Bacterial Flagellar Motor

Figure 6

The distribution of waiting times between steps (backward or forward).

A. Simulation with a perfectly 26-fold periodic contact potential . There is only one type of barrier, and the distribution of waiting times is roughly exponential. (The contact potential is with , and torque .) B. Simulation with an approximately 26-fold periodic contact potential. There are 26 distinct barriers, each of them having a different characteristic waiting time. The overall waiting time distribution is therefore the sum of 26 exponentials. (The contact potential and torque are the same as in Fig. 2.) C. Experiment – the distribution is consistent with a sum of exponentials.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000540.g006