Bacterial biofilm under flow: First a physical struggle to stay, then a matter of breathing
Fig 4
Below 10 mPa, shear stress does not affect biofilm growth rate, but impacts apparent lag time.
(A) Biofilm growth rate, μ (as derived from the exponential adjustment, see Fig 3) as a function of bottom shear stress. (B) The apparent lag time, δ, increases as a function of shear stress; experimental data (solid colored dots) can be adjusted using an exponential law (grey line). Data were collected from biofilm growing in the low shear stress regime, i.e. at σ <10 mPa. Data are represented using the same channel color code as in Fig 1. Means and SDs over two positions are represented. Plot of a representative experiment of at least three (see data statistical dispersion in S1 Table).