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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 3: Cell Adhesion and Migration, Multicellular Systems I

BP 3.9: Vortrag

Montag, 12. März 2018, 12:00–12:15, H 2013

Time-Resolved Force Spectroscopy of Flagella-Surface Contacts — •Anni Röse, Christian Titus Kreis, and Oliver Bäumchen — Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPIDS), Am Faßberg 17, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany

Cellular appendages such as cilia and flagella are important tools for microbes to sense their environment, to propel themselves and also for mediating cell adhesion to surfaces. Despite the fact that the flagella axoneme represents a universal building block in cell biology, the biological mechanisms and characteristics of flagella mediated adhesion remains elusive so far. Recently, we discovered that Chlamydomonas, a unicellular biflagellated microalga, can actively switch the flagella adhesiveness on and off by light [1]. This rapid adaptation to environmental conditions within seconds distinguishes the adhesion mechanism of microalgae (eukaryotes) from bacteria (prokaryotes). In order to obtain a quantitative understanding of the characteristics of microalgal adhesion, we study flagella-substrate interactions by means of time-resolved in vivo force spectroscopy. Our micropipette-based force measurements allow us to correlate adhesion forces with optical images of flagella configuration during the rupture of the adhesive contact. These experiments indicate that each flagellum forms multiple adhesive contacts with the substrate. We identify the spatial distribution of the contacts on the flagella and also measure the strength of the individual contacts. These characteristic signatures of microalgal adhesion represent a remarkable difference compared to bacterial adhesion.

[1] Kreis et al., Nature Physics, 2017.