Analysis of confocal microscopy image data of Physcomitrella chloroplasts to reveal adaptation principles leading to structural stability at the

Proc Appl Math Mech             online article

In chloroplasts of the moss Physcomitrella patens members of the FtsZ protein family, an ancient tubulin, form a dynamic cytoskeleton-like polymer network, the plastoskeleton, which is essential for the adaptive stability of these organelles. We used 3D confocal images of FtsZ networks to develop computer models that permit the analysis of plastoskeleton connectivity to understand biological principles of structural network stability at the nano scale. These principles shed new light on biological signalling and can be considered for biomimetic transfer to new materials and to architecture.