Time-Course Expression Profiling of E. coli (MG1655) Genes During Swarming

RNA sequencing was performed on Escherichia coli MG1655 swarm cells collected at 2, 4, and 20 hours post inoculation, with planktonic cells serving as controls. In the context of swarming, the 2 hour time point represents the lag phase or initial surface adaptation, 4 hours corresponds to active colony expansion, and 20 hours marks the termination of expansion due to the physical boundaries of the plate. This study aims to identify differentially expressed genes during swarming to uncover key regulatory pathways involved in surface-associated motility and surface sensing. As swarming imposes distinct environmental stresses, such as oxidative stress and nutrient limitation. The resulting dataset provides a unique resource for exploring bacterial adaptation under these conditions.