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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 18: Tissue Mechanics
BP 18.8: Vortrag
Mittwoch, 19. März 2025, 11:45–12:00, H44
Dynamics and mechanics of germband extension in Drosophila — •Maryam Setoudeh1,2,3, Giulia Serafini3, Pavel Tomancak3,4, and Pierre A. Haas1,2,3 — 1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems — 2Center for Systems Biology Dresden — 3Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics — 4Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden
During Drosophila development, cell intercalations and cell divisions drive the extension of the germband on the dorsal side of the embryo towards its anterior. We and others [1] have recently observed that the shape of the germband is often curved, even in the wild-type, contrary to the textbook picture of a straight germband. Here, we develop a mechanical model in which the germband midline appears as an elastic line pushed by an effective force resulting from germband extension. Its motion is resisted by frictional forces from surrounding tissues and attachment at the tip mediated by the integrin scab. In this model, we discover an instability of the straight shape that explains the observed variability in the wild-type as well as the twisting phenotype observed in embryos in which scab is depleted. We also find that an alternative model of a growing rather than pushed elastic line cannot explain the observed instability. This highlights the mechanical role of these pushing forces in germband extension.
[1] Smits et al., Curr. Biol. 33, 3536 (2023)
Keywords: Morphogenesis; Drosophila; Mechanical instability