In this paper we review the biophysics revealed by stretching single biopolymers. During the last decade various techniques have emerged allowing micromanipulation of single molecules and simultaneous measurements of their elasticity. Using such techniques, it has been possible to investigate some of the interactions playing a role in biology. We shall first review the simplest case of a non-interacting polymer and then present the structural transitions in DNA, RNA and proteins that have been studied by single-molecule techniques. We shall explain how these techniques permit a new approach to the protein folding/unfolding transition.

The pattern of blood flow has long been thought to play a significant role in vascular morphogenesis, yet the flow-sensing mechanism that is involved at early embryonic stages, when flow forces are low, remains unclear. It has been proposed that endothelial cells use primary cilia to sense flow, but this has never been tested in vivo. Here we show, by noninvasive, high-resolution imaging of live zebrafish embryos, that endothelial cilia progressively deflect at the onset of blood flow and that the deflection angle correlates with calcium levels in endothelial cells. We demonstrate that alterations in shear stress, ciliogenesis, or expression of the calcium channel PKD2 impair the endothelial calcium level and both increase and perturb vascular morphogenesis. Altogether, these results demonstrate that endothelial cilia constitute a highly sensitive structure that permits the detection of low shear forces during vascular morphogenesis.

Gene expression plays a central role in the orchestration of cellular processes. The use of inducible promoters to change the expression level of a gene from its physiological level has significantly contributed to the understanding of the functioning of regulatory networks. However, from a quantitative point of view, their use is limited to short-term, population-scale studies to average out cell-to-cell variability and gene expression noise and limit the nonpredictable effects of internal feedback loops that may antagonize the inducer action. Here, we show that, by implementing an external feedback loop, one can tightly control the expression of a gene over many cell generations with quantitative accuracy. To reach this goal, we developed a platform for real-time, closed-loop control of gene expression in yeast that integrates microscopy for monitoring gene expression at the cell level, microfluidics to manipulate the cells' environment, and original software for automated imaging, quantification, and model predictive control. By using an endogenous osmostress responsive promoter and playing with the osmolarity of the cells environment, we show that long-term control can, indeed, be achieved for both time-constant and time-varying target profiles at the population and even the single-cell levels. Importantly, we provide evidence that real-time control can dynamically limit the effects of gene expression stochasticity. We anticipate that our method will be useful to quantitatively probe the dynamic properties of cellular processes and drive complex, synthetically engineered networks.model based control | computational biology | high osmolarity glycerol pathway | quantitative systems biology U nderstanding the information processing abilities of biological systems is a central problem for systems and synthetic biology (1-6). The properties of a living system are often inferred from the observation of its response to static perturbations. Timevarying perturbations have the potential to be much more informative regarding the dynamics of cellular functions (7-12). Currently, it is not possible to precisely perturb protein levels in an analogous manner, even though this perturbation would be instrumental in our understanding of gene regulatory networks. Indeed, despite the development of novel regulatory systems, including various RNA-based solutions (13), transcriptional control by means of inducible promoters is still the preferred method for manipulating protein levels (14, 15). Unfortunately, inducible promoters have several generic limitations. First, there is a significant delay between gene expression activation and effective protein synthesis. Second, many cellular processes can interfere with gene expression through internal feedback loops whose effects are hard to predict. Third, the process of gene expression shows significant levels of noise (16)(17)(18). Given these limitations, novel experimental strategies are required to gain quantitative, real-time control of gene expression in vivo.Here, we see the...

Highlights d Oscillatory flow amplitude scales with klf2a expression and calcium levels d TRPP2 and TRPV4 are mechanosensitive channels in the endocardium d TRPV4 and TRPP2 control valve development d TRPV4 and TRPP2 control klf2a expression and intracellular calcium

DNA encounters topological problems in vivo because of its extended double-helical structure. As a consequence, the semiconservative mechanism of DNA replication leads to the formation of DNA braids or catenanes, which have to be removed for the completion of cell division. To get a better understanding of these structures, we have studied the elastic behavior of two braided nicked DNA molecules using a magnetic trap apparatus. The experimental data let us identify and characterize three regimes of braiding: a slightly twisted regime before the formation of the first crossing, followed by genuine braids which, at large braiding number, buckle to form plectonemes. Two different approaches support and quantify this characterization of the data. First, Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of braided DNAs yield a full description of the molecules' behavior and their buckling transition. Second, modeling the braids as a twisted swing provides a good approximation of the elastic response of the molecules as they are intertwined. Comparisons of the experiments and the MC simulations with this analytical model allow for a measurement of the diameter of the braids and its dependence upon entropic and electrostatic repulsive interactions. The MC simulations allow for an estimate of the effective torsional constant of the braids (at a stretching force F = 2 pN): C(b) approximately 48 nm (as compared with C approximately 100 nm for a single unnicked DNA). Finally, at low salt concentrations and for sufficiently large number of braids, the diameter of the braided molecules is observed to collapse to that of double-stranded DNA. We suggest that this collapse is due to the partial melting and fraying of the two nicked molecules and the subsequent right- or left-handed intertwining of the stretched single strands.

BackgroundImaging single cells with fluorescent markers over multiple cell cycles is a powerful tool for unraveling the mechanism and dynamics of the cell cycle. Over the past ten years, microfluidic techniques in cell biology have emerged that allow for good control of growth environment. Yet the control and quantification of transient gene expression in unperturbed dividing cells has received less attention.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere, we describe a microfluidic flow cell to grow Saccharomyces Cerevisiae for more than 8 generations (≈12 hrs) starting with single cells, with controlled flow of the growth medium. This setup provides two important features: first, cells are tightly confined and grow in a remarkably planar array. The pedigree can thus be determined and single-cell fluorescence measured with 3 minutes resolution for all cells, as a founder cell grows to a micro-colony of more than 200 cells. Second, we can trigger and calibrate rapid and transient gene expression using reversible administration of inducers that control the GAL1 or MET3 promoters. We then show that periodic 10–20 minutes gene induction pulses can drive many cell division cycles with complete coherence across the cell cluster, with either a G1/S trigger (cln1 cln2 cln3 MET3-CLN2) or a mitotic trigger (cdc20 GALL-CDC20).Conclusions/SignificanceIn addition to evident cell cycle applications, this device can be used to directly measure the amount and duration of any fluorescently scorable signal-transduction or gene-induction response over a long time period. The system allows direct correlation of cell history (e.g., hysteresis or epigenetics) or cell cycle position with the measured response.

In budding yeast, a mother cell can produce a finite number of daughter cells before it stops dividing and dies. Such entry into senescence is thought to result from a progressive decline in physiological function, including a loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ). Here, we developed a microfluidic device to monitor the dynamics of cell division and ΔΨ in real time at single-cell resolution. We show that cells do not enter senescence gradually but rather undergo an abrupt transition to a slowly dividing state. Moreover, we demonstrate that the decline in ΔΨ, which is observed only in a fraction of cells, is not responsible for entry into senescence. Rather, the loss of ΔΨ is an age-independent and heritable process that leads to clonal senescence and is therefore incompatible with daughter cell rejuvenation. These results emphasize the importance of quantitative single-cell measurements to decipher the causes of cellular aging.

Topoisomerase IV (Topo IV), an essential ATP-dependent bacterial type II topoisomerase, transports one segment of DNA through a transient double-strand break in a second segment of DNA. In vivo, Topo IV unlinks catenated chromosomes before cell division and relaxes positive supercoils generated during DNA replication. In vitro, Topo IV relaxes positive supercoils at least 20-fold faster than negative supercoils. The mechanisms underlying this chiral discrimination by Topo IV and other type II topoisomerases remain speculative. We used magnetic tweezers to measure the relaxation rates of single and multiple DNA crossings by Topo IV. These measurements allowed us to determine unambiguously the relative importance of DNA crossing geometry and enzymatic processivity in chiral discrimination by Topo IV. Our results indicate that Topo IV binds and passes DNA strands juxtaposed in a nearly perpendicular orientation and that relaxation of negative supercoiled DNA is perfectly distributive. Together, these results suggest that chiral discrimination arises primarily from dramatic differences in the processivity of relaxing positive and negative supercoiled DNA: Topo IV is highly processive on positively supercoiled DNA, whereas it is perfectly distributive on negatively supercoiled DNA. These results provide fresh insight into topoisomerase mechanisms and lead to a model that reconciles contradictory aspects of previous findings while providing a framework to interpret future results.DNA ͉ magnetic tweezers ͉ single molecule ͉ topology ͉ segregation T opological stress associated with excess supercoiling and knotted or interlinked DNA is resolved by an essential and conserved class of enzymes, the topoisomerases (1-4). Topoisomerases fall into two broad categories. Type I topoisomerases transiently cut a single strand of duplex DNA permitting them to relax overwound, positively supercoiled DNA [(ϩ)sc DNA], and underwound, negatively supercoiled DNA [(Ϫ)sc DNA]. Type II topoisomerases catalyze the ATP-dependent passage of one segment of double-stranded DNA (the transfer or T segment) through a second transiently cleaved segment of duplex DNA (the gate or G segment) (3). Type II topoisomerases can both relax and generate supercoils and, importantly, can unknot and unlink DNA. Cellular DNA topology is maintained through the concerted activity of these two classes of topoisomerases (5).Topo IV, a bacterial type II topoisomerase, is primarily responsible for unlinking replicated chromosomes in vivo (5-7). A summary of the in vivo roles and enzymatic cycle of Topo IV is presented in supporting information (SI) Fig. S1. In vitro, Topo IV relaxes (ϩ)sc DNA faster than (Ϫ)sc DNA. Paradoxically, the relaxation rate asymmetry is variable, ranging from a factor of Ϸ20 in ensemble measurements to a much larger value in single-molecule measurements (8-10). In contrast with Topo IV, the homologous yeast topoisomerase II (Topo II) relaxes positive and negative supercoils at the same rate (8). However, human topoisomerase II␣ preferential...