Analysis of Pollen Tube Growth Behavior
CD BioSciences is dedicated to establishing new biophysical methods of analysis and screening highly reproducible experimental conditions for determining the behavior and mechanical properties of pollen tubes. Our advanced analytical platform and innovative technologies allow for more efficient experiments under precisely controlled and reproducible conditions and provide promising tools for large-scale phenotyping of tip-growing cells.
Background
The pollen tube is a member of the group of tip-growing cells, a rapid polar growth system. All cell growth occurs at a single point on the cell surface, producing a cylindrical cell protrusion with an extreme aspect ratio of tens of thousands. A large body of research has focused on exploring how tip growth cells focus their growth activity on a single growth region and the mechanisms by which they regulate growth dynamics in time and space. In the context of pollen tube growth, such studies contribute to our understanding of the way male and female partners communicate.
As tip growth is a complex process, a variety of sophisticated methods have been developed to measure cell biological parameters, such as vibrating probes to monitor ion fluxes and the use of microindices to measure biomechanical properties. However, most experiments have the disadvantage of being time-consuming as well as unstable data due to the fact that only one cell can be tested at any given time. Recently, microfluidic and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology has been developed and successfully applied in many biological and medical applications. The technology allows for precise handling of pollen tubes and allows researchers to create and control the chemical and physical environment of the stretching cell with micrometer resolution, offering great opportunities for pollen tube research.
Fig.1 Microfluidic design features enabling analysis of pollen tube behavior and mechanical properties. (Geitmann, 2017)
Our Services
CD BioSciences has developed multiple design strategies to expose in vitro-grown pollen tubes to a range of experimental assays to study their behavior and their mechanical properties. Our services include, but are not limited to:
- In conjunction with our proven in vitro cell culture techniques, we use microscopic techniques to help our clients determine parameters used to assess pollen tube performance on a large scale, including quantifying seed set and determining germination rate, mean growth rate and cell morphology.
- We help our clients quantify the mechanical forces and physiological processes involved in pollen tube growth through the use of microfluidics and micro-robotics, providing useful information for studying the mechanisms of pollen tube growth towards the ovule.
Applications
- Study on chemotropism and directional memory of pollen tubes
- Study on galvano sensing
- Study on cell mechanical properties
Our Advantages
- World-class technology platforms
- High accuracy and high stability
- High-quality services and cost-effective
Recent technological developments in the field of MEMS have greatly facilitated experiments with pollen tubes and CD BioSciences has successfully expanded the use of MEMS in the analysis of pollen tube growth behavior. Our professional and efficient scientific services will greatly accelerate your research progress in this field. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us.
Reference
- Geitmann, A. Microfluidic-and microelectromechanical system (MEMS)-based platforms for experimental analysis of pollen tube growth behavior and quantification of cell mechanical properties. Pollen Tip Growth. Springer. 2017: 87-103.
For research use only, not
intended for any clinical use.
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