FIG 1.

(A) Fluorescently labeled E. coli growing in droplets from h 0 to h 9. We facilitated imaging by overloading E. coli (i.e., most droplets were initially loaded with more than one E. coli cell). (B) Distinct colony morphologies across droplets of an artificial community of five facultative gut anaerobes: Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacter cloacae, and E. coli. Droplets appear hexagonal due to oil evaporation used to flatten the field of view for imaging. (C) Richness of microbial communities isolated and cultured in droplets compared with communities grown without separation in standard bulk culture. Differences in richness were not associated with DNA sequencing depth of samples.