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Experimentally manipulating fungi with optical tweezers

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Mycoscience

Abstract

A short review of the use of optical tweezers in fungal cell biological research is provided. First, we describe how optical tweezers work. Second, we review how they have been used in various experimental live-cell studies to manipulate intracellular organelles, hyphal growth and branching, and whole cells. Third, we indicate how optically trapped microbeads can be used for the localized delivery of chemicals or mechanical stimulation to cells, as well as permitting measurements of the growth forces generated by germ tubes. Finally, the effects of optical trapping on fungal cell viability and growth are assessed.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Graham D. Wright

    Present address: Department of Physics, JJ Thomson Physical Laboratory, The University of Reading, Reading, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Fungal Cell Biology Group, Institute of Cell Biology, University of Edinburgh, Rutherford Building, Edinburgh, EH9 3JH, UK

    Graham D. Wright & Nick D. Read

  2. Collaborative Optical Spectroscopy, Micromanipulation and Imaging Centre (COSMIC), University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Jochen Arlt

  3. SUPA and School of Physics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Wilson C.K. Poon

Authors
  1. Graham D. Wright
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  2. Jochen Arlt
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  3. Wilson C.K. Poon
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  4. Nick D. Read
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nick D. Read.

Additional information

Parts of this review were presented at the Mycological Society of Japan (MSJ) / British Mycological Society (BMS) Joint Symposium, “The new generation mycologists in Japan and the UK” held in Chiba, Japan on June 3, 2006.

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Wright, G., Arlt, J., Poon, W. et al. Experimentally manipulating fungi with optical tweezers. Mycoscience 48, 15–19 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10267-006-0326-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10267-006-0326-4

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