Physical mechanisms of cell rearrangements during germband extension in Drosophila melanogaster

发育生物学中的一个主要问题是组织和器官是如何形成形状的 通过形态发生的过程。从力学的基本考虑来看，组织 是由(1)细胞力和(2)组织材料特性的动态变化形成的。这个 形态发生的主要方法在很大程度上包括遗传学和成像，两者都没有 其足以定量地确定力或组织属性。在这里我们 建议直接测量材料组织特性，使用校准的微悬臂来 具有亚细胞分辨率的探针组织，结合光片显微镜进行定量 变形。从材料属性和细胞动力学的综合图谱中，我们将 能够通过计算唯一地推断驱动这些动态的力的模式。vbl.使用 以果蝇生殖带延伸为模型，我们将应用我们的方法来确定 细胞嵌入、玫瑰花环的形成和分解以及组织的物理机制 伸长率。我们的方法原则上适用于任何发展系统。

A major question in developmental biology is how tissues and organs acquire their shape through the process of morphogenesis. Basic considerations from mechanics imply that tissues are shaped by dynamical changes in (1) cellular forces and (2) tissue material properties. The predominant approach to morphogenesis has consisted largely of genetics and imaging, neither of which is sufficient to quantitatively determine either the forces or tissue properties. Here we propose to measure material tissue properties directly, using calibrated micro-cantilevers to probe tissue with subcellular resolution, in combination with lightsheet microscopy to quantify deformations. From a comprehensive map of material properties and cellular dynamics, we will be able to computationally infer the pattern of forces driving these dynamics uniquely. Using Drosophila germband extension as a model, we will apply our approach to determine the physical mechanisms underlying cell intercalation, rosette formation and resolution, and tissue elongation. Our methods are in principle applicable to any developmental system.