An all-optical approach to modulate and quantitatively analyse embryo morphogenetic movements by using ultrashort laser pulses

Willy Supatto (1) , Delphine Débarre (1) , Bruno B. Moulia (2) , Emmanuel Farge (3) , Emmanuel Beaurepaire (1)

1 LOB - Laboratoire d'optique et biosciences
2 Biomechanics Group, INRA, F-63039 Clermont-Ferrand
3 Laboratory of Physico-chemistry of Life, CNRS, Institut Curie, F-75005 Paris

The regulation of morphogenetic movements that shape an embryo during its development remains a challenging issue in developmental biology, and may in certain cases involve mechanical sensitivity. Addressing this issue requires novel experimental approaches. We show that the combination of femtosecond laser pulse-induced ablation and multiphoton microcopy can be used to modulate and quantify morphogenetic movements in Drosophila embryos. We characterized the effects of focused nanoJoule pulse trains in developing embryos. We used targeted ablations to locally modify the embryo structural integrity and modulate morphogenesis. Femtosecond-pulse induced ablation was combined with nonlinear microscopy based on two-photon-excited fluorescence (2PEF) and third-harmonic generation (THG). Correlation-based analysis of microscopy data allowed us to track the outcome of ablations and to analyze tissue deformations. These experiments provided insight into the interplay between gene expression and tissue deformations in developing embryos.

Willy Supatto, Delphine Débarre, Bruno B. Moulia, Emmanuel Farge, Emmanuel Beaurepaire. An all-optical approach to modulate and quantitatively analyse embryo morphogenetic movements by using ultrashort laser pulses. Imaging, Manipulation, and Analysis of Biomolecules, Cells, and Tissues IV, Jan 2006, San Jose, CA, United States. ⟨10.1117/12.645897⟩. ⟨hal-00841071⟩