Fig. 2: Snowflake yeast fracture due to growth-induced mechanical stress.
From: Cellular packing, mechanical stress and the evolution of multicellularity
a, Sample AFM force–displacement scan of an individual cluster. The sharp reduction in force (arrow) is indicative of a fracturing event. b, Normalized energy input versus cluster radius for week 1 (blue) and week 8 (red) clusters, with linear extrapolations to the point of zero energy input marked—these extrapolated sizes correspond to expected spontaneous fracture sizes, and are in agreement with independent measurements thereof. Energy input normalized by the maximum measured value. The inset shows force at fracture, normalized by the average. c, Normalized compressive modulus versus percentage of strain at fracture for week-1 (blue) and week-8 (red) clusters. Compressive modulus normalized by the maximum measured value. d, Mean experimentally measured volume fraction for week-1 (blue) and week-8 (red) clusters. Error bars indicate standard error of the mean; ****P < 0.0001.
