SKM 2021 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 7: Cell Mechanics, Cell Adhesion and Migration, Multicellular Systems

BP 7.4: Talk

Thursday, September 30, 2021, 16:00–16:15, H6

Defect-mediated morphogenesis — •Ludwig A. Hoffmann, Livio N. Carenza, Julia Eckert, and Luca Giomi — Universiteit Leiden, The Netherlands

Growing experimental evidence indicates that topological defects could serve as organizing centers in the morphogenesis of tissues. We provide a quantitative explanation for this phenomenon, rooted in the buckling theory of deformable active polar liquid crystals. Using a combination of linear stability analysis and computational fluid dynamics, we demonstrate that confined cell layers are unstable to the formation of protrusions in the presence of disclinations. The instability originates from an interplay between the focusing of the elastic forces, mediated by defects, and the renormalization of the system's surface tension by the active flow. The post-transitional regime is also characterized by several complex morphodynamical processes, such as oscillatory deformations, droplet nucleation and active turbulence. Our findings offer an explanation of recent observations on tissue morphogenesis and shed light on the dynamics of active surfaces in general.