Fig. 4

Sister cell generation times are strongly correlated after symmetric divisions. a, b Distributions of growth rates (a) and generation times (b) are similar when comparing cells under continuous illumination and light-dark cycles. Generation times are defined as the interval from birth to division. For cells grown under light dark cycles, generation times were calculated based on ignoring the dark periods during which no growth was observed (Fig. 3b). c, d Generation times of sister cells are highly correlated under continuous illumination (N = 139 sister pairs in (c)) and light-dark cycles (N = 48 in (d)). Error bars represent uncertainties in the exact moment of division. e, f Birth volumes of sister cells are highly correlated under continuous light (N = 139 in (e)) and light-dark cycles (N = 48 in (f)). In (e), images of sister cells resulting from asymmetric divisions are highlighted by colored arrows, with the corresponding data point in (c) indicated by an arrow of the same color and showing large differences in generation times