TipChip: a modular, MEMS-based platform for experimentation and phenotyping of tip-growing cells
TipChip: a modular, MEMS-based platform for experimentation and phenotyping of tip-growing cells
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DOI：
10.1111/tpj.12093
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发表时间：
2013-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
7.2
通讯作者：
Geitmann, Anja
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Agudelo, Carlos G.;Nezhad, Amir Sanati;Geitmann, Anja
大规模的顶端生长的细胞，如花粉管表型迄今已被限制到非常粗糙的参数，如发芽率和生长速度。为了能够高效和高通量地执行更复杂的测定，基于微流体和微机电系统（MEMS）技术开发了实验平台TipChip。该装置允许花粉粒或真菌孢子定位在串联排列的微通道的入口处，该微通道配备有显微镜实验装置。尖端生长细胞（花粉管、丝状酵母或真菌菌丝）可以暴露于模块化微通道内的化学梯度、微结构特征、集成的生物传感器或定向触发器。该设备与Nomarski光学和荧光显微镜兼容。利用这个平台，我们能够回答关于花粉管生长的几个悬而未决的问题。我们确定，与根毛和真菌菌丝不同，花粉管没有方向记忆。此外，人们发现花粉管能够在空气中伸长，这就提出了细胞如何以及在何处吸收水分的问题。该平台为在精确控制、可重现的条件下进行更有效的实验和大规模尖端生长细胞表型分析开辟了新途径。
Large-scale phenotyping of tip-growing cells such as pollen tubes has hitherto been limited to very crude parameters such as germination percentage and velocity of growth. To enable efficient and high-throughput execution of more sophisticated assays, an experimental platform, the TipChip, was developed based on microfluidic and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The device allows positioning of pollen grains or fungal spores at the entrances of serially arranged microchannels equipped with microscopic experimental set-ups. The tip-growing cells (pollen tubes, filamentous yeast or fungal hyphae) may be exposed to chemical gradients, microstructural features, integrated biosensors or directional triggers within the modular microchannels. The device is compatible with Nomarski optics and fluorescence microscopy. Using this platform, we were able to answer several outstanding questions on pollen tube growth. We established that, unlike root hairs and fungal hyphae, pollen tubes do not have a directional memory. Furthermore, pollen tubes were found to be able to elongate in air, raising the question of how and where water is taken up by the cell. The platform opens new avenues for more efficient experimentation and large-scale phenotyping of tip-growing cells under precisely controlled, reproducible conditions.