Measuring the mechanical properties of S. cerevisiae (baker’s yeast) using video microscopy

Abstract

Insights on the internal mechanics of a living cell provide a working understanding of its physiological processes, structure and how it interacts with its environment. This leads us to different breakthroughs in cell biology and medicine. Here, we developed and established a low cost protocol of characterizing cell mechanics. We found that the cellular membrane and the cytoskeleton of a yeast cell are uncoupled based on the significant difference of the shear moduli measurements using surface-attached probes versus inherent intracellular lipid granular probes. This demonstrates that yeast cells are structurally different from mammalian cells.