Actin and myosin assemble into a thin layer of a highly dynamic network underneath the membrane of eukaryotic cells. This network generates the forces that drive cell and tissue-scale morphogenetic processes. The effective material properties of this active network determine large-scale deformations and other morphogenetic events. For example,the characteristic time of stress relaxation (the Maxwell time)in the actomyosin sets the time scale of large-scale deformation of the cortex. Similarly, the characteristic length of stress propagation (the hydrodynamic length) sets the length scale of slow deformations, and a large hydrodynamic length is a prerequisite for long-ranged cortical flows. Here we introduce a method to determine physical parameters of the actomyosin cortical layer (in vivo). For this we investigate the relaxation dynamics of the cortex in response to laser ablation in the one-cell-stage {\it C. elegans} embryo and in the gastrulating zebrafish embryo. These responses can be interpreted using a coarse grained physical description of the cortex in terms of a two dimensional thin film of an active viscoelastic gel. To determine the Maxwell time, the hydrodynamic length and the ratio of active stress and per-area friction, we evaluated the response to laser ablation in two different ways: by quantifying flow and density fields as a function of space and time, and by determining the time evolution of the shape of the ablated region. Importantly, both methods provide best fit physical parameters that are in close agreement with each other and that are similar to previous estimates in the two systems. We provide an accurate and robust means for measuring physical parameters of the actomyosin cortical layer.It can be useful for investigations of actomyosin mechanics at the cellular-scale, but also for providing insights in the active mechanics processes that govern tissue-scale morphogenesis.
Discontinuous buckling from cytoplasmic mechanics in vertex models of epithelia
Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems（马克斯·普朗克复杂系统物理研究所）；Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics（马克斯·普朗克分子细胞生物学与遗传学研究所）；Center for Systems Biology Dresden（德累斯顿系统生物学中心）
Microscopic origin of macroscopic contractility in actin-myosin active gel models
Institute of Bioengineering, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)（洛桑联邦理工学院（EPFL）生命科学学院生物工程研究所）；SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics（瑞士生物信息学研究所）；Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva（日内瓦大学生物遗传与进化系）；Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, Université de Paris Cité（巴黎 Cité 大学物质与复杂系统实验室）；Institut Curie, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR168, Physique des Cellules et Cancer（居里研究所，巴黎文理研究大学，索邦大学，法国国家科学研究中心 UMR168，细胞物理与癌症实验室）；Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Institut Jacques Monod（巴黎 Cité 大学，法国国家科学研究中心，雅克·莫诺研究所）
Unfitted finite element modelling of surface-bulk viscous flows in animal cells
Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB), Collège de France, Université PSL, CNRS, INSERM（跨学科生物学研究中心，法兰西公学院，巴黎文理研究大学）；Departament de Mecànica de Fluids (MF), Escola Politècnica Superior d’Enginyeria de Vilanova i la Geltrú (EPSEVG), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC)（流体力学系，维尔纳瓦伊拉热特鲁高等工程学院，加泰罗尼亚理工大学）；Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), University of Toulouse, CNRS（整合生物学中心，图卢兹大学）
Mesoscale tissue properties and electric fields in brain stimulation: Bridging the macroscopic and microscopic scales using layer-specific cortical conductivity
Duke University（杜克大学）；Technical University of Denmark（丹麦技术大学）；Copenhagen University Hospital Amager and Hvidovre（哥本哈根大学医院阿马格和哈弗尔校区）；Dartmouth College（达特茅斯学院）
Modes of Mechanical Guidance of Adhesion-Independent Cell Migration
TU Bergakademie Freiberg（弗莱贝格工业大学）；Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems（马克斯·普朗克复杂系统物理研究所）；Center for Systems Biology Dresden（德累斯顿系统生物学中心）；Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden（德累斯顿工业大学生命物理学卓越集群）；Universitat de Barcelona（巴塞罗那大学）；Universitat de Barcelona Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS)（巴塞罗那大学复杂系统研究所）；Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)（加泰罗尼亚研究高级学院）；HTW Dresden（德累斯顿应用技术大学）
