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A Vertex Model of Drosophila Ventral Furrow Formation

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  • Philipp Spahn
  • Rolf Reuter

Abstract

Summary: For the developmental biologist it is a fascinating question how cells can coordinate major tissue movements during embryonic development. The so-called ventral furrow of the Drosophila embryo is a well-studied example of such a process when cells from a ventral band, spanning nearly the entire length of the embryo, undergo dramatic shape change by contracting their tips and then fold inwards into the interior of the embryo. Although numerous genes have been identified that are critical for ventral furrow formation, it is an open question how cells work together to elicit this tissue rearrangement. We use a computational model to mimic the physical properties of cells in the ventral epithelium and simulate the formation of the furrow. We find that the ventral furrow can form through stochastic self-organisation and that previous experimental observations can be readily explained in our model by considering forces that arise when cells execute contractions while being coupled to each other in a mechanically coherent epithelium. The model highlights the importance of a physical perspective when studying tissue morphogenesis and shows that only a minimal genetic regulation may be required to drive complex processes in embryonic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Philipp Spahn & Rolf Reuter, 2013. "A Vertex Model of Drosophila Ventral Furrow Formation," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-15, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0075051
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0075051
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stavans, Joel, 1993. "Evolution of two-dimensional cellular structures: The soap froth," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 194(1), pages 307-314.
    2. Adam C. Martin & Matthias Kaschube & Eric F. Wieschaus, 2009. "Pulsed contractions of an actin–myosin network drive apical constriction," Nature, Nature, vol. 457(7228), pages 495-499, January.
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