A. graevenitzii preferentially grow as clusters in co-culture with S. aureus
Spatial clustering of species during co-culture on solid surfaces can provide competative advantages and protect against environmental stresses. In co-culture with S. aureus we observed higher numbers of clustered A. graevenitzii colonies compared to A. graevenitzii monocultures or even co-cultures with S. cristatus(Fig. 5A). Measurement of exclusion zones broadly comparing single versus clustered A. graevenitzii microcolonies revealed that even very large clusters (> 160 µm diameter) of A. graevenitzii did not produce significantly larger exclusion zones compared to single microcolonies (~20 µm diameter) (Fig. 5B,C).