Microfabricated chambers as force sensors for probing forces of fungal growth

The mechanical properties of fungal cells influence their growth, division, morphogenesis, and invasiveness. These cells are characterized by high internal turgor pressure contained by a stiff but elastic cell wall. In here, we describe simple and versatile methods to measure forces of fungal growth, turgor pressure, and elastic moduli of fungi cell wall, using microfabricated polydimethylsiloxane wells of varying stiffness as single cell force sensors. We demonstrate the strength of this method with the rod-shape fission yeast Schizosaccaromyces pombe and highlight how it may be implemented for studying mechanical properties of other walled cells.