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Abstract Experimental evidence suggests that suction may play a role in the attachment strength of mushroom-tipped adhesive structures, but the system parameters which control this effect are not well established. A fracture mechanics-based model is introduced to determine the critical stress for defect propagation at the interface in the presence of trapped air. These results are compared with an experimental investigation of millimeter-scale elastomeric structures. These structures are found to exhibit a greater increase in strength due to suction than is typical in the literature, as they have a large tip diameter relative to the stalk. The model additionally provides insight into differences in expected behavior across the design space of mushroom-shaped structures. For example, the model reveals that the suction contribution is length-scale dependent. It is enhanced for larger structures due to increased volume change, and thus the attainment of lower pressures, inside of the defect. This scaling effect is shown to be less pronounced if the tip is made wider relative to the stalk. An asymptotic result is also provided in the limit that the defect is far outside of the stalk, showing that the critical stress is lower by a factor of 1/2 than the result often used in the literature to estimate the effect of suction. This discrepancy arises as the latter considers only the balance of remote stress and pressure inside the defect and neglects the influence of compressive tractions outside of the defect. 

Abstract Background Cyanobacteria maintain extensive repertoires of regulatory genes that are vital for adaptation to environmental stress. Some cyanobacterial genomes have been noted to encode diversity-generating retroelements (DGRs), which promote protein hypervariation through localized retrohoming and codon rewriting in target genes. Past research has shown DGRs to mainly diversify proteins involved in cell-cell attachment or viral-host attachment within viral, bacterial, and archaeal lineages. However, these elements may be critical in driving variation for proteins involved in other core cellular processes. Results Members of 31 cyanobacterial genera encode at least one DGR, and together, their retroelements form a monophyletic clade of closely-related reverse transcriptases. This class of retroelements diversifies target proteins with unique domain architectures: modular ligand-binding domains often paired with a second domain that is linked to signal response or regulation. Comparative analysis indicates recent intragenomic duplication of DGR targets as paralogs, but also apparent intergenomic exchange of DGR components. The prevalence of DGRs and the paralogs of their targets is disproportionately high among colonial and filamentous strains of cyanobacteria. Conclusion We find that colonial and filamentous cyanobacteria have recruited DGRs to optimize a ligand-binding module for apparent function in signal response or regulation. These represent a unique class of hypervariable proteins, which might offer cyanobacteria a form of plasticity to adapt to environmental stress. This analysis supports the hypothesis that DGR-driven mutation modulates signaling and regulatory networks in cyanobacteria, suggestive of a new framework for the utility of localized genetic hypervariation.