Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 3: Tissue Mechanics I
BP 3.9: Talk
Monday, March 9, 2026, 12:00–12:15, BAR/0205
Mechanics and hydraulics of the C. elegans germ line — •Chandraniva Guha Ray1,2,3, Jonathan Jackson2, Jonas Neipel1,2,3, Julia Pfanzelter2, Stephan W. Grill2,3,4, and Pierre A. Haas1,2,3 — 1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems — 2Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics — 3Center for Systems Biology Dresden — 4Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden
In the cylindrical germ line of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, germ cells surround a tube called the rachis, to which all germ cells are connected via openings in the cells called rachis bridges. These rachis bridges allow exchange of cytoplasm between the rachis and the germ cells, which mature as they move towards the proximal end of the germ line where a hydraulic instability decides germ cell fate [1]. However, cortical contractility would collapse static germ cells by releasing their cytoplasm into the rachis through the rachis bridges. Here, we explain how the hydraulic flows in the germ line prevent this collapse and thus stabilise the germ line mechanically: We present a coarse-grained vertex model of a steady-state germ line that couples these hydraulic effects to cell mechanics. We compare the model to experimental observations and thus show how the interplay of fluid pumping and cell contractility can build a dynamically stable germ line.
[1] N. T. Chartier et al., Nat. Phys. 17, 920 (2021)
Keywords: Tissue hydraulics; C. elegans; Cell contractility