Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 5: Tissue Mechanics I

BP 5.10: Talk

Monday, March 18, 2024, 17:45–18:00, H 0110

The Geometric Basis of Epithelial Convergent Extension — Fridtjof Brauns¹, Nikolas H. Claussen², and •Boris I. Shraiman^{1, 2} — ¹Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA — ²Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA

Animal development requires large numbers of cells to choreograph their force generation in order to sculpt tissues and organs. Leveraging the fact that cellular forces equilibrate rapidly compared to the speed of development, we formulate a geometrical model for the network of balanced active tensions in an epithelial sheet. Within this framework, we can investigate how cells remodel the tension network to change tissue shape. A simple "winner-takes-all" mechanical feedback loop can self-organize complex cell movement, matching experimental data on the cell and tissue scale. We find that the ability to self-organize depends on initial order in the cellular packing. Our model explains how genetic patterning, embryo geometry, and cellular packing geometry combine to determine tissue shape change.

Keywords: convergent extension; self-organization; tissue flow; active solid; T1 process