Fig. 4: Wetness of agar plates affects the size and structure of colonies.

a Experiments (upper row, n = 3) and simulations (bottom row) of colony sizes and structures are shown in wet, dry, and alternating conditions after 14 days. The outer rings around the agar patties were filled with liquid YPD for ‘wet’ conditions and were put on a larger solid YPD plate with fresh media for ‘dry’ condition. Conditions were refreshed once after 7 days, either for the same or for the other condition. Simulation of similar conditions are plotted in the bottom row. Scale bar is 10 mm. b Cell counts, and dry weights of the colonies were determined after 14 days (color codes match the colors of a). c Agent count at the end of a 14 day simulation. d The area of the colonies in the various environmental conditions is shown for both the experimental (markers for each experiment separately) and one representative simulation result per experiment (lines). The vertical line shows the time of refeeding. Simulation results are scaled 55.6 pixels to 1 mm².