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Direct Measurement of Kinetic Force Generated by Mycoplasma
Masaki Mizutani1, Makoto Miyata2,3,4,5
1Bioproduction Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. mizutani-masaki@aist.go.jp.
Abstract:
Optical tweezers enable us to measure the force generated by bacterial motility and motor proteins. Here, we describe a method, using optical tweezers and related techniques, to measure the force generated during Mycoplasma gliding. An avidin-conjugated polystyrene bead trapped by a focused laser beam is bound to the surface-biotinylated Mycoplasma cell, which pulls the bead from the trap center of the laser. The force generated by Mycoplasma is calculated from a displacement measured and a spring constant of the laser trap.
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