Cinemicrographic study of the development of subsurface colonies of staphylococcus aureus in soft agar.

Cinemicrographic studies revealed that the development of elongated subsurface colonies of Staphylococcus aureus in soft agar (<0.2% agar) originated with a colony-forming unit of about 10 to 20 cells. It was then observed that small clusters of 3 to 12 cells broke off from the main colony unit and drifted away under the combined influence of gravity and Brownian motion. Once the downward or slightly sideward motion of the small clusters ceased, the clusters would continue to increase in size; at the same time, additional small clusters broke off, and the cycle was repeated until the entire colony was formed. Displacement and velocity measurements were made on the drifting small clusters. When compared with the dimensional growth rate and geometry of the subsurface colony, these showed that a correlation existed between the movement and velocity of the small clusters and the subsequent colony development. A relationship between the role of gravity reported in these results and the development of spherical colonies after rotation on a clinostat is suggested.