Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 36: Cell Mechanics II

BP 36.7: Talk

Friday, March 22, 2024, 11:45–12:00, H 0112

Light-Induced Chloroplast Morphodynamics in a Single Celled Algae — •Nico Schramma, Gloria Casas Canales, and Maziyar Jalaal — Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Photosynthesis is essential for all life on Earth. However, the ever-changing light conditions in the environment of immobile organisms are continuously challenging the photosynthetic performance. A vast amount of photosynthesis takes place in the ocean and even simpler forms of life, such as the non-motile single-celled marine algae Pyrocystis lunula, can adapt to changes of light by moving their chloroplasts. As this process occurs in confinement by the rigid cell wall, the drastic intracellular re-arrangement needs "smart" logistics strategies. Here we uncover that the cell exploits meta-material properties to efficiently adapt to such environmental changes. Exposing the cell to different physiological light conditions and applying temporal illumination sequences shows that the morpho-dynamics follow simple rules. This kind of dynamic testing allows us to extract the coarse-grained equations of motion to describe this biological system. Our study shows how topologically complex metamaterials are applied in critical life-sustaining processes in nature and that simple dynamical rules can account for complex material transport in a crowded intracellular environment.

Keywords: Chloroplast motion; Morphodynamics; Biological meta-materials; Light sensing