Dresden 2017 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 6: Cell Mechanics (Joint Session BP/DY)
BP 6.3: Talk
Monday, March 20, 2017, 15:45–16:00, SCH A251
Light-driven intracellular flow perturbations to unravel transport processes in cells and developing embryos — •Matthäus Mittasch1,4, Peter Groß2, Michael Nestler3, Mathias Munder1, Axel Voigt3,4, Simon Alberti1, Stephan Grill2,4, and Moritz Kreysing1,4 — 1MPI-CBG, Dresden — 2Biotechnology Center, Technische Universität Dresden — 3Department of Mathematics, TU Dresden — 4Center for Systems Biology Dresden
Throughout the last decades, advances in molecular and cell biology have allowed for a precise control of molecular reactions inside cells. The complex interplay of molecular reactions with physical transport processes was suggested to control the spatiotemporal organization of cells and developing embryos. However, unravelling the function of physical transport during morphogenesis and cellular homeostasis remains a challenge due to the lack of suitable perturbation methods for in vivo systems. Here, we exploit thermoviscous pumping (Weinert & Braun) to perform light-driven intracellular flow perturbations. Thereby, we show the causal implications of intracellular flows during PAR polarization of the C. elegans zygote. Finite element simulations in 3D of the Stokes equation with time-dependent source terms recapitulated the experimental findings nearly identical. Furthermore, we utilize flow perturbations for active and probe-free micro-rheology measurements in yeast cells. Hence, we revealed a fluid-to-solid transition of the cytoplasm in energy-depleted cells. Light-driven intracellular flow perturbations lay the foundation to dissect the design principles of transport-dependent organization of living systems.