Spatiotemporal distribution of the glycoprotein pherophorin II reveals stochastic geometry of the growing ECM of $Volvox~carteri$

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: von der Heyde, Benjamin, Srinivasan, Anand, Birwa, Sumit Kumar, von der Heyde, Eva Laura, Höhn, Steph S. M. H., Goldstein, Raymond E., Hallmann, Armin
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2024
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_version_ 1866913600113737728
author von der Heyde, Benjamin
Srinivasan, Anand
Birwa, Sumit Kumar
von der Heyde, Eva Laura
Höhn, Steph S. M. H.
Goldstein, Raymond E.
Hallmann, Armin
author_facet von der Heyde, Benjamin
Srinivasan, Anand
Birwa, Sumit Kumar
von der Heyde, Eva Laura
Höhn, Steph S. M. H.
Goldstein, Raymond E.
Hallmann, Armin
contents The evolution of multicellularity involved the transformation of a simple cell wall of unicellular ancestors into a complex, multifunctional extracellular matrix (ECM). A suitable model organism to study the formation and expansion of an ECM during ontogenesis is the multicellular green alga $Volvox~carteri$, which, along with the related volvocine algae, produces a complex, self-organized ECM composed of multiple substructures. These self-assembled ECMs primarily consist of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, a major component of which is pherophorins. To investigate the geometry of the growing ECM, we fused the $yfp$ gene with the gene for pherophorin II (PhII) in $V.~carteri$. Confocal microscopy reveals PhII:YFP localization at key structures within the ECM, including the boundaries of compartments surrounding each somatic cell and the outer surface of the organism. Image analysis during the life cycle allows the stochastic geometry of those growing compartments to be quantified. We find that their areas and aspect ratios exhibit robust gamma distributions and exhibit a transition from a tight polygonal to a looser acircular packing geometry with stable eccentricity over time, evoking parallels and distinctions with the behavior of hydrated foams. These results provide a quantitative benchmark for addressing a general, open question in biology: How do cells produce structures external to themselves in a robust and accurate manner?
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_05059
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Spatiotemporal distribution of the glycoprotein pherophorin II reveals stochastic geometry of the growing ECM of $Volvox~carteri$
von der Heyde, Benjamin
Srinivasan, Anand
Birwa, Sumit Kumar
von der Heyde, Eva Laura
Höhn, Steph S. M. H.
Goldstein, Raymond E.
Hallmann, Armin
Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
Tissues and Organs
The evolution of multicellularity involved the transformation of a simple cell wall of unicellular ancestors into a complex, multifunctional extracellular matrix (ECM). A suitable model organism to study the formation and expansion of an ECM during ontogenesis is the multicellular green alga $Volvox~carteri$, which, along with the related volvocine algae, produces a complex, self-organized ECM composed of multiple substructures. These self-assembled ECMs primarily consist of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, a major component of which is pherophorins. To investigate the geometry of the growing ECM, we fused the $yfp$ gene with the gene for pherophorin II (PhII) in $V.~carteri$. Confocal microscopy reveals PhII:YFP localization at key structures within the ECM, including the boundaries of compartments surrounding each somatic cell and the outer surface of the organism. Image analysis during the life cycle allows the stochastic geometry of those growing compartments to be quantified. We find that their areas and aspect ratios exhibit robust gamma distributions and exhibit a transition from a tight polygonal to a looser acircular packing geometry with stable eccentricity over time, evoking parallels and distinctions with the behavior of hydrated foams. These results provide a quantitative benchmark for addressing a general, open question in biology: How do cells produce structures external to themselves in a robust and accurate manner?
title Spatiotemporal distribution of the glycoprotein pherophorin II reveals stochastic geometry of the growing ECM of $Volvox~carteri$
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Biological Physics
Tissues and Organs
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.05059