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Genetic information determines the composition of molecules comprising cytoskeletal elements, membranes and receptors. The supramolecular arrangement of these components represents a self-assembly process controlled by physicochemical and mechanical interactions. This general hypothesis demarcates the aim of studying cellular mechanics. Description and evaluation of mechanical properties of cells and their organelles, as well as of the forces exerted by them, is the scope of this book on Cytomechanics. Emphasis is laid on the role of mechanical properties in the generation of shape and cytoplasmic motion, and on the basic principles and components determining mechanical properties.
List of contents
I. General Principles.- I.1 Mechanical Principles of Architecture of Eukaryotic Cells.- I.2 Evaluation of Cytomechanical Properties.- I.3 Use of Finite Element Methods in Cytomechanics: Study of the Mechanical Stability of the Skeletal Basal Plate of Callimitra a Biomineralizing Protozoan.- I.4 Mechanics and Hydrodynamics of Rotating Filaments.- II. The Supramolecular Level.- II.1 Mechanical Concepts of Membrane Dynamics: Diffusion and Phase Separation in Two Dimensions.- II.2 Implications of Microtubules in Cytomechanics: Static and Motile Aspects.- II.3 The Nature and Significance of ATP-Induced Contraction of Microtubule Gels.- II.4 Generation of Propulsive Forces by Cilia and Flagella.- II.5 The Cortical Cytoplasmic Actin Gel.- II.6 Dynamic Organization and Force Production in Cytoplasmic Strands.- III. Mechanical Factors Determining Morphogenesis of Protists.- III.1 Determination of Body Shape in Protists by Cortical Structures.- III.2 Morphogenetic Forces in Diatom Cell Wall Formation.- III.3 The Cytoskeletal and Biomineralized Supportive Structures in Radiolaria.- IV. Mechanical Factors Determining Plant Cell Morphogenesis.- IV. 1 Mechanical and Hydraulic Aspects of Plant Cell Growth.- IV.2 Plant Cytomechanics and Its Relationship to the Development of Form.- IV.3 Mechanical Properties of the Cyclamen Stalk and Their Structural Basis.- V. Mechanical Forces Determining the Shape of Metazoan Cells.- V.I Forces Shaping an Erythrocyte.- V.2 Hydrostatic Pressure in Metazoan Cells in Culture: Its Involvement in Locomotion and Shape Generation.- V.3 The Transmission of Forces Between Cells and Their Environment.
