Probing Cell Mechanics with Bead-Free Optical Tweezers in the Drosophila Embryo

Morphogenesis requires coordination between genetic patterning and mechanical forces to robustly shape the cells and tissues. Hence, a challenge to understand morphogenetic processes is to directly measure cellular forces and mechanical properties in vivo during embryogenesis. Here, we present a set...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of visualized experiments no. 141
Main Authors Chardès, Claire, Clement, Raphael, Blanc, Olivier, Lenne, Pierre-François
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States JoVE 02.11.2018
Subjects
Animals
Drosophila - embryology
Embryonic Development - physiology
Life Sciences
Optical Tweezers - therapeutic use
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Summary:Morphogenesis requires coordination between genetic patterning and mechanical forces to robustly shape the cells and tissues. Hence, a challenge to understand morphogenetic processes is to directly measure cellular forces and mechanical properties in vivo during embryogenesis. Here, we present a setup of optical tweezers coupled to a light sheet microscope, which allows to directly apply forces on cell-cell contacts of the early Drosophila embryo, while imaging at a speed of several frames per second. This technique has the advantage that it does not require the injection of beads into the embryo, usually used as intermediate probes on which optical forces are exerted. We detail step by step the implementation of the setup, and propose tools to extract mechanical information from the experiments. By monitoring the displacements of cell-cell contacts in real time, one can perform tension measurements and investigate cell contacts' rheology.
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ISSN:1940-087X
1940-087X
DOI:10.3791/57900