A comprehensive model of Drosophila epithelium reveals the role of embryo geometry and cell topology in mechanical responses.

ABSTRACT: In order to understand morphogenesis, it is necessary to know the material properties or forces shaping the living tissue. In spite of this need, very few in vivo measurements are currently available. Here, using the early Drosophila embryo as a model, we describe a novel cantilever-based technique which allows for the simultaneous quantification of applied force and tissue displacement in a living embryo. By analyzing data from a series of experiments in which embryonic epithelium is subjected to developmentally relevant perturbations, we conclude that the response to applied force is adiabatic and is dominated by elastic forces and geometric constraints, or system size effects. Crucially, computational modeling of the experimental data indicated that the apical surface of the epit

SUBMITTER: Cheikh MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10584372 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature