FIG 1 .

Physical swarm characteristics. (a) Stereomicroscope photograph of a typical monolayered Bacillus subtilis dendritic swarm (strain OMG981) expressing GFP (ribosomal protein rpmGB-gfp fusion described in the section “Translational activity across the swarming community”). (b) Number of cells per area (0.0516 mm²) at indicated distances from the edge of the mother colony to the tip of the dendrite. (c) Inverse decorrelation time plotted against the position of the cells along a 0.5-mm long dendrite. The decorrelation time (calculated from a 45-image/s film) gives a quantitative measure of the mobility of the bacteria in a short period of time. MC, mother colony. Error bars represent the standard deviations of the means.