Taxis (Gr. Taxis — Row, Order)

Taxis is a motor reaction, the direction of which is determined by the direction of the stimulus that caused it. Such reactions are observed in animals, in some lower plants and in male germ cells of mosses and ferns.

During taxis, organisms actively respond to external stimuli by moving towards the source of stimulation - either approaching it or moving away. For example, the movement of leukocytes to the site of inflammation or the movement of sperm to the egg. Taxis can be positive (movement towards a stimulus) or negative (movement away from a stimulus).

Taxis play an important role in the life of organisms - they allow them to seek favorable conditions and avoid unfavorable ones. This is a primitive form of spatial orientation that does not require complex neural mechanisms.