Population heterogeneity revealed in morphometric analysis of densely populated microbial swarm collectives

Understanding how individual cell morphology shapes collective behavior is crucial for uncovering principles of organization across biological systems. We developed an image analysis pipeline, Swarmetrics, and revealed unexpected phenotypic heterogeneity among cells during bacterial collective migration. These results raise questions about the necessity and impact of uniformity-in shape and behaviors-during bacterial collective actions. Swarmetrics also opens the door for quantitative analysis of irregularly shaped cells in dense communities.