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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 15: Posters: Multi-cellular systems

BP 15.6: Poster

Montag, 16. März 2015, 17:30–19:30, Poster A

Analyzing cellular arrangements and shapes in Caenorhabditis elegans — •Rolf Fickentscher, Philipp Struntz, and Matthias Weiss — Experimentalphysik 1, Universität Bayreuth

Recent developments in lightsheet fluorescence microscopy enable rapid and gentle in toto imaging of living specimen. Three-dimensional image series with a high spatiotemporal resolution can be acquired over extended periods of time. We utilize these advantages to investigate mechanical cues in the early embryogenesis of the small nematode Caenorhabditis elegans by imaging embryos with fluorescently labeled nuclei or plasma membranes [1]. Tracking nuclei yields information about processes that drive cellular arrangements during early development, whereas the segmentation of whole cells provides additional knowledge on shape controlling mechanisms throughout the cell cycle.

We have compared nuclei trajectories in different embryos. The observed deviations are small, hence indicating a robust cellular arrangement process. A simple mechanical model reveals that early cell organization is crucially determined by the cells’ quest for a position with least repulsive interactions. This passive process is superimposed by active shape control, i.e. cell rounding can be observed for all cells at the onset of mitosis. Furthermore, we show that incomplete rounding correlates with the orientation of cell division axes.

[1] R. Fickentscher, P. Struntz & M. Weiss, Biophys. J, 105 (2013)