Seminars and Colloquia
Biology
Cell and tissue mechanics in zebrafish gastrulation
Mon, Dec 07, 2015,
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
at LHC 203
Carl - Philipp Heisenberg
Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria
Tissue morphogenesis during embryonic development is brought about by
mechanical forces which are generated
by the specific biophysical and motility
properties of its constituent cells. It has also been suggested that embryonic
tissues behave like immiscible liquids with a given surface tension and that
differences in surface tension between tissues determine th
eir spatial
configuration during embryogenesis. To understand how single cell biophysical
and motility properties regulate tissue surface tension and how tissue surface
tension controls tissue organization in development, we are studying the specific
funct
ion of germ layer progenitor cell adhesion, cell cortex tension and motility in
determining germ layer organization during zebrafish gastrulation. We found that
the combinatorial activity of progenitor cell adhesion, cortex tension and motility
determines
germ layer tissue surface tension and that differences in germ layer
tissue surface tension influence germ layer organization during gastrulation. We
will discuss these findings in the light of different hypotheses explaining how
single cell biophysical pr
operties determine tissue morphogenesis in
development.
