Structural Redundancy in Supracellular Actomyosin Networks Enables Robust Tissue Folding

Area of Science:

• Developmental Biology
• Cell Biology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Tissue morphogenesis, the process of tissue shaping, is remarkably robust.
• Understanding how tissues maintain integrity under stress is crucial but largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the network properties enabling robust tissue folding in Drosophila embryos.
• To determine the mechanical contributions of cell network connectivity to tissue morphogenesis.

Main Methods:

• Network analysis of cell connectivity.
• Experimental perturbations of the cellular network.
• Computational modeling of tissue folding dynamics.

Main Results:

• Identified redundant supracellular cytoskeletal network paths ensuring global connectivity despite local damage.
• Discovered directional stiffening of cell edges, oriented orthogonally to the folding axis, promotes furrow formation.
• Demonstrated these network properties enable robust tissue folding at reduced contractility levels.

Conclusions:

• Structural redundancy in cell networks provides mechanical robustness to tissue morphogenesis.
• Directional network stiffening contributes to efficient furrow formation and proper tissue orientation.
• Combined network properties ensure robust tissue folding in Drosophila embryos.