Fig. 2
The results of verification through microfluidic devices. (A) PDMS device designs. (B)The design of the incubation chamber. The white regions represent the pillars, while the black regions indicate regions filled with LB medium, where E. coli can move freely. (C) Snapshots of the cultivation chamber at time 0, 10, and 20 h of (i) fractal, (ii) array, and (iii)bulk arrangements. (D) Bacterial pixel count for each arrangement. (fractal: N = 9, array: N = 8, bulk: N = 5) (i) Time series of bacterial pixel count for each arrangement. Error bars represent the standard error for each arrangement. (ii) box plot of bacterial pixel count at t = 20 for each arrangement. Box plot showing the median, interquartile range (box), and potential outliers (white-filled circle). The whiskers represent data within 1.5 times the interquartile range from the quartiles. (E) Bacterial pixel count for within and outside the pillar periphery. (N = 9) (i) Time series of bacterial pixel count for within and outside the pillar periphery. In the upper-left diagram in the graph, the definitions of “within pillar periphery” and “outside the pillar periphery” are illustrated. (ii) box plot of bacterial pixel count at t = 20 for within and outside the pillar periphery. (F) the illustration of the method for calculating the probability of both species coexisting within regions with a specific grid size. (G) the probability of both species coexisting within regions with a specific grid size. (fractal: N = 9, array: N = 8, bulk: N = 5) (i) the probability of both species coexisting within regions with each grid size. (ii) the boxplot of the probability of coexisting in grid size = 32, N = 9. Scale bars: 50 μm. Statistical significance of the Wilcoxon rank-sum test is indicated by asterisks: *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.
