MinD oscillation in cells of different lengths. (A) Time-lapse micrographs illustrating the pole-to-pole oscillation of sfGFP-MinD in cells of different lengths. The exponentially growing E. coli strain FW1541 was imaged at 12-s intervals for 10 min. Scale bar: 2 μm. (B) Standing wave features are demonstrated at 10% and 25% of the cell length, which was equivalent to the positions at 90% and 75%, respectively, along the medial axes of cells. (C) Kymographs demonstrating changes in the intensity profiles with length. (D) The standard deviation (SD) of the oscillation period is reduced in longer cells. (E and G) The correlation plots between the oscillation period and cell length when cultured with 0.416% (E) and 0% glucose (G). The oscillation periods range from 37 to 66 s for 0.416% glucose and from 41 to 99 s for 0% glucose. (F) Correlation between the oscillation velocity and the cell cycle duration. In A–C, MinD oscillations in three representative cells with varying lengths are presented. In D–G, analyses based on pooled data from multiple image fields are presented to demonstrate the oscillatory dynamics across cells of different lengths. Correlations were calculated using the nonparametric Spearman correlation method with 95% confidence intervals. The red dashed lines represent the lines fitted by simple linear regression. R², goodness of fit; r, Spearman coefficient; P: two-tailed probability; n, population size. D–F, n = 130; G, n = 101.