Living peristaltic micro conveyor tube of optogenetically controllable bioactuator

This paper reports a muscle-powered miniaturized cylindrical conveyor which has peristaltic movement and bending motion. In our study, we used two types of Drosophila melanogaster (D. melanogaster, fruit fly) larvae that express GCaMP calcium indicator or channelrhodopsin-2 in the cell membrane of skeletal muscles. We observed calcium ions wave on living larvae due to muscle contraction and determined the optimum light condition. Then we controlled speed and width of the peristaltic waves of D. melanogaster larvae with blue light by using optogenetic method. By changing speed of the propagating light wave while fixing the width of stimulation area, we tested contractile displacement. We succeeded in transporting micro beads arbitrarily by combining a variety of local stimulations.