Crunching Biofilament Rings

We discuss a curious example for the collective mechanical behavior of coupled non-linear monomer units entrapped in a circular filament. Within a simple model we elucidate how multistability of monomer units and exponentially large degeneracy of the filament's ground state emerge as a collective feature of the closed filament. Surprisingly, increasing the monomer frustration, i.e., the bending prestrain within the circular filament, leads to a conformational softening of the system. The phenomenon, that we term polymorphic crunching, is discussed and applied to a possible scenario for membrane tube deformation by switchable dynamin or FtsZ filaments. We find an important role of cooperative inter-unit interaction for efficient ring induced membrane fission

Bio-filaments polymorphes et leurs interactions avec des membranes biologiques

This work focuses on the development of theoretical models in the framework of biophysics. In particular, it deals with the interactions between bio-filaments (long polymer chains found in biological cells) and biological membranes which protect cells from their environment. It is divided in three main parts, where different systems are studied. Firstly, a model going beyond the Worm-Like Chain model is developed to take into account different preferred states of curvature of the constituents of the bio-polymer chains. This kind of filaments are forced to close into a ring and their interactions with tubular membranes they entwine are discussed. Secondly, the deformations induced to biological membranes by torque-applying bio-filaments are discussed in the linear regime. Finally, the motility of the bacteria Spiroplasma. Preliminary results on an elastic model describing the cell motility are given.Cette thèse développe, dans le cadre de la biophysique, des modèles théoriques centrés sur les interactions entre les bio-filaments, de longs polymères présents dans les cellules biologiques et les membranes biologiques, qui protègent les cellules de leur environnement. La thèse est divisée en trois parties, traitant différents systèmes. Dans un premier temps, un modèle admettant plusieurs états de courbure préférée des bio-filaments est développé. Ce type de filaments est forcé à former un anneau et leur interaction avec des membranes tubulaires qu'ils enlacent est discutée. Deuxièmement, les déformations de membranes biologiques modèles sous l'action de filaments appliquant des couples sont calculées, dans le régime linéaire. Finalement, la motilité de la bactérie Spiroplasma est abordée. Les résultats préliminaires d'un modèle élastique sont donnés

Biofilaments as annealed semi-flexible copolymers

International audienceIn many in vivo or in vitro situations, biofilaments manifest some annealed heterogeneity and should be considered as annealed random copolymers. The building blocks of the filaments differ from each other, for example, by the internal structure of the monomer, by the presence of some adsorbed species or by the curvature. Based on the copolymer concept, we embed the description of these systems in a common formalism. We demonstrate how the annealed heterogeneous nature of the filament is reflected by statistical correlations like the tangent-tangent correlation function or the cyclization probability. Our results show that annealed filaments adapt cooperatively to external constraints. This could contribute to explain anomalous elasticity manifested by biofilaments. Copyright (C) EPLA, 201

How bio-filaments twist membranes

International audienceWe study the deformations of a fluid membrane imposed by adhering stiff bio-filaments due to the torques they apply. In the limit of small deformations, we derive a general expression for the energy and the deformation field of the membrane. This expression is specialised to different important cases including closed and helical bio-filaments. In particular, we analyse interface-mediated interactions and membrane wrapping when the filaments apply a local torque distribution on a tubular membrane

Embryo-scale epithelial buckling forms a propagating furrow that initiates gastrulation.

Cell apical constriction driven by actomyosin contraction forces is a conserved mechanism during tissue folding in embryo development. While much is now understood of the molecular mechanism responsible for apical constriction and of the tissue-scale integration of the ensuing in-plane deformations, it is still not clear if apical actomyosin contraction forces are necessary or sufficient per se to drive tissue folding. To tackle this question, we use the Drosophila embryo model system that forms a furrow on the ventral side, initiating mesoderm internalization. Past computational models support the idea that cell apical contraction forces may not be sufficient and that active or passive cell apico-basal forces may be necessary to drive cell wedging leading to tissue furrowing. By using 3D computational modelling and in toto embryo image analysis and manipulation, we now challenge this idea and show that embryo-scale force balance at the tissue surface, rather than cell-autonomous shape changes, is necessary and sufficient to drive a buckling of the epithelial surface forming a furrow which propagates and initiates embryo gastrulation