Microcontact printing of living bacteria arrays with cellular resolution

Arrays of living bacteria were printed on agarose substrate with cellular resolution using elastomeric stamps with a high aspect ratio generated by reverse in situ lithography (RISL). The printed bacteria reproduced the original stamp patterns with high fidelity and continued growing as in bulk culture. This methodology provides a simple route to any desired bacterial spatial 2D distribution and may be applied to screening as well as to studies of bacteria phenotypic variability, population dynamics, and ecosystem evolution.