The Contribution of the Structural Elements of a Single Plant Cell to its Mechanics: How the Plant Cell becomes Animal-Like

Abstract

Changing shape is changing structure. Deciphering the mechanical contribution of the structural elements of the cells in shape changes is thus crucial to link the mechanical control of growth with development. Many measurements on plant and animal cells rather stress the differences in mechanical properties between both kingdoms. However, this conclusion relies on independent measurements, with very different set-ups and tissues, thus impairing any quantitative comparison. Here we took advantage of a previously described micro-rheometer to compare animal and plant single cell rheology with the same set-up. Using this method, we were able to quantitatively assess the dominant elastic behavior of plant cells in different conditions, and compare it with the viscoelastic behavior of animal cells. Surprisingly, we found that wall-less plant cells exhibit the same rheology as animal cells. This suggests that, despite the main structural differences between animal and plant cells, they also share a common mechanical core. Further investigations revealed that microtubules were the main responsible for the rheological behavior of wall-less plant cells whereas the mechanical properties of animal cells were mainly dependent on the actin network. Thus, wall-less plant cells and animal cells may have developed different strategies to converge to the same mechanical behavior.