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Measuring the mechanical properties of plant cells by combining micro-indentation with osmotic treatments.

  • Weber A Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland.
  • Braybrook S Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland Sainsbury Laboratory, Bateman Street, Cambridge, CB2 1LR, UK.
  • Huflejt M Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland.
  • Mosca G Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 1050829 Köln, Cologne, Germany.
  • Routier-Kierzkowska AL Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 1050829 Köln, Cologne, Germany.
  • Smith RS Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 1050829 Köln, Cologne, Germany smith@mpipz.mpg.de.
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  • 2015-04-16
Published in:
  • Journal of experimental botany. - 2015
BY-2
cell wall elasticity
cellular force microscopy
finite-element method
mechanical modelling
micro-indentation
osmotic treatments
sensitivity analysis
turgor pressure.
Cell Wall
Elasticity
Microscopy, Atomic Force
Models, Theoretical
Osmotic Pressure
Plant Cells
Stress, Mechanical
Tobacco
English Growth in plants results from the interaction between genetic and signalling networks and the mechanical properties of cells and tissues. There has been a recent resurgence in research directed at understanding the mechanical aspects of growth, and their feedback on genetic regulation. This has been driven in part by the development of new micro-indentation techniques to measure the mechanical properties of plant cells in vivo. However, the interpretation of indentation experiments remains a challenge, since the force measures results from a combination of turgor pressure, cell wall stiffness, and cell and indenter geometry. In order to interpret the measurements, an accurate mechanical model of the experiment is required. Here, we used a plant cell system with a simple geometry, Nicotiana tabacum Bright Yellow-2 (BY-2) cells, to examine the sensitivity of micro-indentation to a variety of mechanical and experimental parameters. Using a finite-element mechanical model, we found that, for indentations of a few microns on turgid cells, the measurements were mostly sensitive to turgor pressure and the radius of the cell, and not to the exact indenter shape or elastic properties of the cell wall. By complementing indentation experiments with osmotic experiments to measure the elastic strain in turgid cells, we could fit the model to both turgor pressure and cell wall elasticity. This allowed us to interpret apparent stiffness values in terms of meaningful physical parameters that are relevant for morphogenesis.
Language
  • English
Open access status
green
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Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/140355
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