Developing a biosensor-labeled model tissue for in vivo studies of cellular and molecular mechanotransduction

This report describes the incorporation of fluorescent biosensors into a contractile tissue in C. elegans. To investigate molecular-level strain, we incorporated stFRET, a genetically encoded strain sensor, into the mechanosensitive protein filamin/FLN-1. Cells expressing FLN-1::stFRET exhibit a decrease in FRET efficiency when the tissue is stretched. Additionally, we labeled cell-cell junctions with innexin/INX-12::tdTomato which can be used to determine cell stretch and cell shape changes. Building on these sensors will allow multiscale in vivo studies of mechanotransduction at the cellular and molecular levels.