An automated confocal micro-extensometer enables in vivo quantification of mechanical properties with cellular resolution.

Robinson, Sarah; Huflejt, Michal; Barbier de Reuille, Pierre; Braybrook, Siobhan A; Schorderet, Martine; Reinhardt, Didier; Kuhlemeier, Cris (2017). An automated confocal micro-extensometer enables in vivo quantification of mechanical properties with cellular resolution. The Plant Cell, 29(10), tpc.00753.2017. American Society of Plant Biologists 10.1105/tpc.17.00753

Text tpc.17.00753.full.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (2MB) | Request a copy

How complex developmental-genetic networks are translated into organs with specific 3D shapes remains an open question. This question is particularly challenging because the elaboration of specific shapes is in essence a question of mechanics. In plants, this means how the genetic circuitry affects the cell wall. The mechanical properties of the wall and their spatial variation are the key factors controlling morphogenesis in plants. However, these properties are difficult to measure and investigating their relation to genetic regulation is particularly challenging. To measure spatial variation of mechanical properties, one must determine the deformation of a tissue in response to a known force with cellular resolution. Here we present an automated confocal micro-extensometer (ACME), which greatly expands the scope of existing methods for measuring mechanical properties. Unlike classical extensometers, ACME is mounted on a confocal microscope and utilizes confocal images to compute the deformation of the tissue directly from biological markers, thus providing 3D cellular scale information and improved accuracy. Additionally, ACME is suitable for measuring the mechanical responses in live tissue. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate that the plant hormone gibberellic acid induces a spatial gradient in mechanical properties along the length of the Arabidopsis hypocotyl.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

4 since deposited on 05 Dec 2017
0 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item