Figure 1.

Differential dispersal propensities in T. thermophila strains

(A) Schematic of the two-patch dispersal system composed of 1.5 mL conical tubes connected by a narrow passageway. Cells in dispersal assays are seeded in the left patch and allowed to disperse to the right patch over 4 hr.

(B) Dispersal propensity is different between the 22 T. thermophila isolates. Dispersal rate is measured as a ratio between number of dispersers and total number of cells in 5 separate biological replicates. Graph shows the mean and standard deviation in dispersal rate for each strain. Red line and transparent red band denote the inter-strain mean and inter-strain standard deviation for all strains.

(C) Fluorescence image of T. thermophila cell with labeled BBs (α-TtCen1; green) and cilia (α-α-tubulin; magenta) (scale bar, 10 μm). Schematic of cell morphologies that were measured in the 22 T. thermophila isolates.

(D) Schematic for T. thermophila cell behavior measurements (scale bar, 10 μm).