As their cells grow, divide and communicate with each other, they self-organize into colonies to maximize their chances of survival. The patterns they form are determined by both their genetic makeup and their environment.
By changing the conditions — like the temperature and humidity — under which the bacteria are grown, Danino found he was able to manipulate them into creating certain patterns
In addition to traditional scientific dyes, he also experimented with using food coloring on the agar as well as on the bacteria themselves
How to Create Agar Art with Living Microbes
Synthetic Biological Systems Laboratory