Figure 1.

Cross sections of biofilms 24 h post-inoculation, developed under four dormancy mechanisms. Dormancy was induced by (A) stochastic process (R_a→d = 0.04 day⁻¹), (B) nutrient-dependent process (K_S = 20 gCOD/m³), (C) oxygen-dependent process (K_O = 3.5 g/m³), and (D) a time-dependent process (T_a→d = 14 h). In the stochastic, nutrient-dependent and oxygen-dependent processes, the dormant cells are widely distributed through the biofilm. In the time-dependent process, dormant cells reside near the bottom of the biofilm. These spatial distributions of dormant cells largely depend on the parameter values related to the dormant cell formation mechanism (see Supplementary Figure 2).