An actin-based viscoplastic lock ensures progressive body-axis elongation.

ABSTRACT: Body-axis elongation constitutes a key step in animal development, laying out the final form of the entire animal. It relies on the interplay between intrinsic forces generated by molecular motors^1-3, extrinsic forces exerted by adjacent cells^4-7 and mechanical resistance forces due to tissue elasticity or friction^8-10. Understanding how mechanical forces influence morphogenesis at the cellular and molecular level remains a challenge¹. Recent work has outlined how small incremental steps power cell-autonomous epithelial shape changes^1-3, which suggests the existence of specific mechanisms that stabilize cell shapes and counteract cell elasticity. Beyond the twofold stage, embryonic elongation in Caenorhabditis elegans is dependent on b

SUBMITTER: Lardennois A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8086821 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature