Figure 2.

Cell-division of Staphylococcus spp. on flat Si surfaces. Left column: schematic representation of cell division; Right column: representative Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of staphylococcal cells on flat Si surfaces. (A–F) After initial attachment, the symmetry of the cell environment is broken but the cell is able to progress with cell growth and division towards the surrounding environment. The orientation of initial cell-surface attachment (red dot) can determine the direction (blue arrow) of subsequent cell division events on Staphylococcus spp. On flat surfaces, cell growth may occur at any angle relative to the surface plane. (G,H) Due to the topological memory of the cell division mechanism of Staphylococcus spp., the 1st generation daughter cells grow in an orthogonal direction with respect to the initial division event. Scale bars 1 µm. Note: ((B) S. epidermidis; (D,F,H)) S. aureus.