Berlin 2024 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 5: Tissue Mechanics I

BP 5.3: Talk

Monday, March 18, 2024, 15:30–15:45, H 0110

Minimal vertex model explains how the amnioserosa tissue remains solid during Drosophila dorsal closure — •Daniel Haertter^1,2, Indrajit Tah³, Janice M. Crawford⁴, Daniel P. Kiehart⁴, Christoph F. Schmidt², and Andrea J. Liu³ — ¹Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany — ²Department of Physics, Duke University, NC, USA — ³Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA — ⁴Department of Biology, Duke University, NC, USA

Dorsal closure is a process in Drosophila melanogaster embryogenesis during which the amnioserosa (AS), a one-cell-thick epithelial tissue that fills the dorsal opening, shrinks as the lateral epidermis sheets converge and eventually fuse. This process results in a significant increase in the aspect ratio of the AS cells. Contrary to predictions of the standard vertex model, which suggests tissue fluidization by cell rearrangement, the AS retains its elastic solid properties without such changes. We introduce a two-dimensional cellular vertex model that accounts for the ability of the AS to sustain this behavior. The model demonstrates that the continuous decrease in preferred cell perimeter and variability in cell perimeter size are key factors in maintaining the solid state of the AS. Our model effectively replicates observed changes in cell shape and orientation and indicates a non-uniform pattern of junctional tension, which we verify through laser ablation experiments.

Keywords: developmental biology; vertex model; Drosophila m.; rigidity transition