text: The rotational direction of E. coli is controlled by the flagellar motor switch. A ring of 34 FliM proteins around the rotor bind CheY, whose phosphorylation state determines whether the motor rotates in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner. The rapid switching mechanism is attributed to an ultrasensitive response, which has a Hill coefficient of ~10. This system has been proposed to follow a dissipative allosteric model, in which rotational switching is a result of both CheY binding and energy consumption from the proton motive force, which also powers the flagellar rotation.