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SUMMARY:Shaping tissues: the role of mechanics across different scales. - 
 Dr Timothy Saunders\, Mechanobiology\, Institute\, National University of 
 Singapore
DTSTART:20201015T080000Z
DTEND:20201015T090000Z
UID:TALK150556@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Caroline Newnham
DESCRIPTION:Understanding how complex organ shape emerges during developme
 nt remains a major challenge. Here\, we use high spatio-temporal live imag
 ing with biophysical modelling to explore at cellular and tissue scales th
 e underlying biophysical processes driving morphogenesis of zebrafish skel
 etal muscle. \n\nThe skeletal muscle of swimming vertebrates forms a disti
 nctive chevron morphology\, which is believed to aid swimming. This shape 
 can be altered by perturbing muscle cell differentiation or the interactio
 n between muscle segments (myotomes) and surrounding tissues. We find that
 \, soon after segmentation from the presomitic mesoderm\, the future myoto
 me spreads across the underlying tissues. The mechanical coupling between 
 the future myotome and the surrounding tissues appears to spatially vary\,
  effectively resulting in spatially heterogeneous friction. Using a vertex
  model combined with experimental validation\, we show that the interplay 
 of tissue spreading and friction is sufficient to drive the initial phase 
 of chevron shape formation. However\, local anisotropic stresses\, generat
 ed during muscle cell differentiation\, combined with tissue plasticity\, 
 are necessary to reach the acute angle of the wild-type chevron. This work
  reveals how a sequence of local cellular events can have a nonlocal and i
 rreversible mechanical impact at the tissue scale. We will also outline ne
 w results quantifying the process of cell fusion in vivo. By generating ma
 ps of cell fusion\, we can begin to probe when\, where\, and with whom fus
 ion occurs during formation of the skeletal muscle.\n\n
LOCATION:Zoom meeting
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