title: Characterization of size-dependent mechanical properties of tip-growing cells using a lab-on-chip device.
abstract: Quantification of mechanical properties of tissues, living cells, and cellular components is crucial for the modeling of plant developmental processes such as mechanotransduction. Pollen tubes are tip-growing cells that provide an ideal system to study the mechanical properties at the single cell level. In this article, a lab-on-a-chip (LOC) device is developed to quantitatively measure the biomechanical properties of lily (Lilium longiflorum) pollen tubes. A single pollen tube is fixed inside the microfluidic chip at a specific orientation and subjected to compression by a soft membrane. By comparing the deformation of the pollen tube at a given external load (compressibility) and the effect of turgor pressure on the tube diameter (stretch ratio) with finite element modeling, its mechanical properties are determined. The turgor pressure and wall stiffness of the pollen tubes are found to decrease considerably with increasing initial diameter of the pollen tubes. This observation supports the hypothesis that tip-growth is regulated by a delicate balance between turgor pressure and wall stiffness. The LOC device is modular and adaptable to a variety of cells that exhibit tip-growth, allowing for the straightforward measurement of mechanical properties.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Tannenstrasse 3, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. huc@ethz.ch bnelson@ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Chengzhi
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8627-2335
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Computational Physics for Engineering Materials, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gautam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Munglani
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vogler
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Tohnyui
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ndinyanka Fabrice
authors.affiliation: Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Tannenstrasse 3, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. huc@ethz.ch bnelson@ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Naveen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shamsudhin
authors.affiliation: Computational Physics for Engineering Materials, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Falk K
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Wittel
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ringli
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology & Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, University of Zurich, Zollikerstrasse 107, CH-8008, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ueli
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Grossniklaus
authors.affiliation: Computational Physics for Engineering Materials, Institute for Building Materials, ETH Zurich, Stefano-Franscini-Platz 3, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.affiliation: Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, Tannenstrasse 3, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland. huc@ethz.ch bnelson@ethz.ch.
authors.forename: Bradley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Nelson
mesh_terms: D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D027762:Lilium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D053205:Pollen Tube / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development*