Teachers: A. Boudaoud, F. Carlier Grynkorn, P. Hersen, M. Le Berre, M. Lounaci, A. Paoletti, M. Piel, G. Romet-Lemonne, D. Tareste, P. Tran and G. Velve Casquillas

The aim of this course is to provide an overview of modern techniques to manipulate and make measurements on living cells, leading to quantitative data that can challenge existing models and/or help build new models of cell behavior.

We chose to use the fission yeast S.Pombe as a model system, as it allows easy genetic manipulation (a deletion library is available) as well as fluorescent imaging of cytoskeletal structures and produces high forces that can be measured with a simple device.

This cell has been a very good model system to understand morphogenetic processes occurring in eukaryotic cells. It has a stereotypical rode like shape, and simple visual screens allow isolating many shape mutants.

During this practical course we propose to understand the respective contribution of the cytoskeleton and the osmotic pressure and mechanical properties of the cell wall to the morphogenetic process of this cell, allowing it to maintain a rod like shape while growing and dividing.

The course consists in 6 sessions of one day each (introduction to the fission yeast S. pombe, microfluidics, mechanics of the cystoskeleton, membrane mechanics and adhesion, microscopy and image analysis, modeling biological systems and comparison with experimental data). Each session comprises a theoretical course of 2 hours introducing the theory and experimental methods used and the biology specific to the experiments, and a critical reading of papers using these methods. The rest of the day is devoted to experiments.