IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-56334-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The physical roles of different posterior tissues in zebrafish axis elongation

Author

Listed:
  • Georgina A. Stooke-Vaughan

    (University of California)

  • Sangwoo Kim

    (University of California
    École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL))

  • Shuo-Ting Yen

    (TU Dresden)

  • Kevin Son

    (University of California)

  • Samhita P. Banavar

    (University of California
    Princeton University)

  • James Giammona

    (University of California)

  • David Kimelman

    (University of Washington)

  • Otger Campàs

    (University of California
    TU Dresden
    Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
    Center for Systems Biology Dresden)

Abstract

Shaping embryonic tissues requires spatiotemporal changes in genetic and signaling activity as well as in tissue mechanics. Studies linking specific molecular perturbations to changes in the tissue physical state remain sparse. Here we study how specific genetic perturbations affecting different posterior tissues during zebrafish body axis elongation change their physical state, the resulting large-scale tissue flows, and posterior elongation. Using a custom analysis software to reveal spatiotemporal variations in tissue fluidity, we show that dorsal tissues are most fluid at the posterior end, rigidify anterior of this region, and become more fluid again yet further anteriorly. In the absence of notochord (noto mutants) or when the presomitic mesoderm is substantially reduced (tbx16 mutants), dorsal tissues elongate normally. Perturbations of posterior-directed morphogenetic flows in dorsal tissues (vangl2 mutants) strongly affect the speed of elongation, highlighting the essential role of dorsal cell flows in delivering the necessary material to elongate the axis.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgina A. Stooke-Vaughan & Sangwoo Kim & Shuo-Ting Yen & Kevin Son & Samhita P. Banavar & James Giammona & David Kimelman & Otger Campàs, 2025. "The physical roles of different posterior tissues in zebrafish axis elongation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56334-7
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56334-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56334-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-56334-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alessandro Mongera & Payam Rowghanian & Hannah J. Gustafson & Elijah Shelton & David A. Kealhofer & Emmet K. Carn & Friedhelm Serwane & Adam A. Lucio & James Giammona & Otger Campàs, 2018. "A fluid-to-solid jamming transition underlies vertebrate body axis elongation," Nature, Nature, vol. 561(7723), pages 401-405, September.
    2. Claire Bertet & Lawrence Sulak & Thomas Lecuit, 2004. "Myosin-dependent junction remodelling controls planar cell intercalation and axis elongation," Nature, Nature, vol. 429(6992), pages 667-671, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pragya Arora & Souvik Sadhukhan & Saroj Kumar Nandi & Dapeng Bi & A. K. Sood & Rajesh Ganapathy, 2024. "A shape-driven reentrant jamming transition in confluent monolayers of synthetic cell-mimics," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Daniel Sánchez-Gutiérrez & Aurora Sáez & Alberto Pascual & Luis M Escudero, 2013. "Topological Progression in Proliferating Epithelia Is Driven by a Unique Variation in Polygon Distribution," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(11), pages 1-8, November.
    3. Hiroyuki Uechi & Kazuki Fukushima & Ryota Shirasawa & Sayaka Sekine & Erina Kuranaga, 2022. "Inhibition of negative feedback for persistent epithelial cell–cell junction contraction by p21-activated kinase 3," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    4. Tomer Stern & Stanislav Y Shvartsman & Eric F Wieschaus, 2020. "Template-based mapping of dynamic motifs in tissue morphogenesis," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(8), pages 1-20, August.
    5. Ngoc Minh Nguyen & Emmanuel Farge, 2024. "Mechanical induction in metazoan development and evolution: from earliest multi-cellular organisms to modern animal embryos," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Guilherme Ventura & Aboutaleb Amiri & Raghavan Thiagarajan & Mari Tolonen & Amin Doostmohammadi & Jakub Sedzinski, 2022. "Multiciliated cells use filopodia to probe tissue mechanics during epithelial integration in vivo," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, December.
    7. Hannah J. Gustafson & Nikolas Claussen & Stefano Renzis & Sebastian J. Streichan, 2022. "Patterned mechanical feedback establishes a global myosin gradient," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    8. Ankit B Patel & William T Gibson & Matthew C Gibson & Radhika Nagpal, 2009. "Modeling and Inferring Cleavage Patterns in Proliferating Epithelia," PLOS Computational Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 5(6), pages 1-8, June.
    9. Julia Eckert & Benoît Ladoux & René-Marc Mège & Luca Giomi & Thomas Schmidt, 2023. "Hexanematic crossover in epithelial monolayers depends on cell adhesion and cell density," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    10. Bibi Najma & Minu Varghese & Lev Tsidilkovski & Linnea Lemma & Aparna Baskaran & Guillaume Duclos, 2022. "Competing instabilities reveal how to rationally design and control active crosslinked gels," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Natalia M. Ziojła & Magdalena Socha & M. Cecilia Guerra & Dorota Kizewska & Katarzyna Blaszczyk & Edyta Urbaniak & Sara Henry & Malgorzata Grabowska & Kathy K. Niakan & Aryeh Warmflash & Malgorzata Bo, 2025. "ETVs dictate hPSC differentiation by tuning biophysical properties," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-21, December.
    12. João Firmino & Jean-Yves Tinevez & Elisabeth Knust, 2013. "Crumbs Affects Protein Dynamics In Anterior Regions Of The Developing Drosophila Embryo," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-10, March.
    13. Sanjay Karki & Mehdi Saadaoui & Valentin Dunsing & Stephen Kerridge & Elise Silva & Jean-Marc Philippe & Cédric Maurange & Thomas Lecuit, 2023. "Serotonin signaling regulates actomyosin contractility during morphogenesis in evolutionarily divergent lineages," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, December.
    14. Ariadna Marín-Llauradó & Sohan Kale & Adam Ouzeri & Tom Golde & Raimon Sunyer & Alejandro Torres-Sánchez & Ernest Latorre & Manuel Gómez-González & Pere Roca-Cusachs & Marino Arroyo & Xavier Trepat, 2023. "Mapping mechanical stress in curved epithelia of designed size and shape," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Ece Özelçi & Erik Mailand & Matthias Rüegg & Andrew C. Oates & Mahmut Selman Sakar, 2022. "Deconstructing body axis morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos using robot-assisted tissue micromanipulation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    16. Özge Özgüç & Ludmilla de Plater & Varun Kapoor & Anna Francesca Tortorelli & Andrew G Clark & Jean-Léon Maître, 2022. "Cortical softening elicits zygotic contractility during mouse preimplantation development," PLOS Biology, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(3), pages 1-23, March.
    17. Nabila Founounou & Reza Farhadifar & Giovanna M. Collu & Ursula Weber & Michael J. Shelley & Marek Mlodzik, 2021. "Tissue fluidity mediated by adherens junction dynamics promotes planar cell polarity-driven ommatidial rotation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, December.
    18. Shun Li & Zong-Yuan Liu & Hao Li & Sijia Zhou & Jiaying Liu & Ningwei Sun & Kai-Fu Yang & Vanessa Dougados & Thomas Mangeat & Karine Belguise & Xi-Qiao Feng & Yiyao Liu & Xiaobo Wang, 2024. "Basal actomyosin pulses expand epithelium coordinating cell flattening and tissue elongation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-20, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56334-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.