Physical extraction of antigen and information

In transient micro-environments known as germinal centers (GCs), B cells improve their affinity for antigen through an accelerated Darwinian process. In a cyclic fashion, B cells diversify their receptor genes during proliferation and compete for limited survival signals. Ideally, higher affinity clones compete better and preferentially expand. However, it remains unknown how B cells measure their receptor quality and gain a faithful mapping from affinity excess to competitive advantage. I will describe a physical-information framework motivated by antigen extraction by GC B cells using cytoskeletal forces. By linking extraction dynamics to selection fidelity via discriminatory performance, we propose that cells may physically enhance their distinguishability to propel adaptive evolution.