In vivo mechanisms of epithelial tissue morphogenesis

Understanding how a tri-dimensional tissue is built from the genetic blueprint is a key frontier in biology. In addition to genes known to be important in specific aspects of morphogenesis, physical constraints and properties play a major role in building tissues. In this proposal, I aim to understand how the genetic inputs integrate with the mechanical properties of the cells and tissues to produce form. To investigate this, we study the early development of the Drosophila embryo. We have found previously that actomyosin-rich boundaries play an important role in two fundamental and conserved morphogenetic phenomena, axis extension and compartmental boundary formation. We have also found that an extrinsic force contributes to axis extension. We will build on these findings by first investigating how the actomyosin-rich boundaries form and how they might repair genetic patterns during axis extension. Second, we will ask how, during compartmentalisation, they control the planar orientation of cell division and also epithelial folding. Finally, we will examine the impact of actomyosin-rich boundaries and extrinsic forces on epithelial tissue mechanics. Our approaches will be interdisciplinary, combining genetic, quantitative and in silico analyses to find novel and universal morphogenetic rules.