RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Self-organized tissue mechanics underlie embryonic regulation
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.10.08.463661
DO 10.1101/2021.10.08.463661
A1 Caldarelli, Paolo
A1 Chamolly, Alexander
A1 Alegria-Prévot, Olinda
A1 Gros, Jerome
A1 Corson, Francis
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/10/09/2021.10.08.463661.abstract
AB Early amniote development is a highly regulative and self-organized process, capable to adapt to interference through cell-cell interactions, which are widely believed to be mediated by molecules. Analyzing intact and mechanically perturbed avian embryos, we show that the mechanical forces that drive embryogenesis self-organize in an analog of Turing’s molecular reaction-diffusion model, with contractility locally self-activating and the ensuing tension acting as a long-range inhibitor. This mechanical feedback governs the persistent pattern of tissue flows that shape the embryo and steers the concomitant emergence of embryonic territories by modulating gene expression, ensuring the formation of a single embryo under normal conditions, yet allowing the emergence of multiple, well-proportioned embryos upon perturbations. Thus, mechanical forces are a central signal in embryonic self-organization, feeding back onto gene expression to canalize both patterning and morphogenesis.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.