The "weaken-fill-repair" model for cell budding: Linking cell wall biosynthesis with mechanics

Yu Liu; Chunxiuzi Liu; Shaohua Tang; Hui Xiao; Xinlin Wu; Yunru Peng; Xianyi Wang; Linjie Que; Zengru Di; Da Zhou; Matthias Heinemann

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.110981

The "weaken-fill-repair" model for cell budding: Linking cell wall biosynthesis with mechanics

iScience. 2024 Sep 18;27(10):110981. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110981. eCollection 2024 Oct 18.

Authors

Yu Liu^{1

2}, Chunxiuzi Liu^{1

2

3}, Shaohua Tang^{1

2

3

4}, Hui Xiao^{1

2}, Xinlin Wu^{1

2}, Yunru Peng^{1

2}, Xianyi Wang^{1

2}, Linjie Que^{1

2}, Zengru Di^{1

2}, Da Zhou⁵, Matthias Heinemann⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Systems Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China.
² International Academic Center of Complex Systems, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China.
³ School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
⁴ Center for Cognition and Neuroergonomics, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai, China.
⁵ School of Mathematical Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
⁶ Molecular Systems Biology, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute, University of Groningen, 9747AG Groningen, The Netherlands.

Abstract

The interplay between cellular mechanics and biochemical processes in the cell cycle is not well understood. We propose a quantitative model of cell budding in Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a "weaken-fill-repair" process, linking Newtonian mechanics of the cell wall with biochemical changes that affect its properties. Our model reveals that (1) oscillations in mother cell size during budding are an inevitable outcome of the process; (2) asymmetric division is necessary for the daughter cell to maintain mechanical stiffness; and (3) although various aspects of the cell are constrained and interconnected, the budding process is governed by a single reduced parameter, ψ, which balances osmolyte accumulation with enzymatic wall-weakening to ensure homeostasis. This model provides insights into the evolution of cell walls and their role in cell division, offering a system-level perspective on cell morphology.

Keywords: Biophysics; Cell biology; Systems biology.

Associated data

Dryad/10.5061/dryad.qjq2bvqn0