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Hydrahas a tubular bilayered epithelial body column with a dome-shaped head on one end and a foot on the other.Hydralacks a permanent mouth: its head epithelium is sealed. Upon neuronal activation, a mouth opens at the apex of the head which can exceed the body column diameter in seconds, allowingHydrato ingest prey larger than itself. While the kinematics of mouth opening are well characterized, the underlying mechanism is unknown. We show thatHydramouth opening is generated by independent local contractions that require tissue-level coordination. We model the head epithelium as an active viscoelastic nonlinear spring network. The model reproduces the size, timescale and symmetry of mouth opening. It shows that radial contractions, travelling inwards from the outer boundary of the head, pull the mouth open. Nonlinear elasticity makes mouth opening larger and faster, contrary to expectations. The model correctly predicts changes in mouth shape in response to external forces. By generating innervated : nerve-free chimera in experiments and simulations, we show that nearest-neighbour mechanical signalling suffices to coordinate mouth opening.Hydramouth opening shows that in the absence of long-range chemical or neuronal signals, short-range mechanical coupling is sufficient to produce long-range order in tissue deformations.
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This content will become publicly available on August 1, 2026
Using Published Undergraduate Biomechanics Research on Hydra Mouth Opening to Train Undergraduates
ABSTRACT Biophysics research is exciting because physical approaches to biology can provide novel insights, and it is challenging because it requires knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines. We have developed an undergraduate biophysics laboratory module that teaches fundamental skills such as time-lapse microscopy, image analysis, programming, critical reading of scientific literature, and basics of scientific writing and peer review. The module is accessible to students who are familiar with introductory statistics, cell biology, and differential calculus. We used published research on the biomechanics ofHydramouth opening as a framework because it describes a stunning biological phenomenon:Hydra, a freshwater polyp, generates a multicell-wide mouth opening in an otherwise closed epithelium through extreme cell deformations within seconds. This publication was co–first authored by an undergraduate and was featured in the public press, thus providing multiple anchors that make the research accessible and motivating to undergraduates. Students start with a critical reading and discussion of the publication and then execute some of the experiments and analysis from the publication, thereby learning fluorescence time-lapse microscopy and image analysis by using ImageJ and/or MATLAB. Students quantify the kinematics of the tissue deformations during mouth opening and compare their data to the literature. The module culminates in the students writing a short paper about their results following themicroPublicationjournal style, a blinded peer review, and final paper submission. Here, we describe one possible implementation of the module with the necessary resources to reproduce it and summarize student feedback from a pilot run. We also provide suggestions for more advanced exercises and for using Python for data analysis. Several students expressed that repeating a published study completed by an undergraduate inspired and motivated them, thus creating buy-in and assurance that they can do it, which we expect to help with confidence and retention.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2102916
- PAR ID:
- 10633789
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Biophysical Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Biophysicist
- ISSN:
- 2578-6970
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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