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Second-order division in sectors as a prepattern for sensory organs in vertebrate development
Vincent Fleury1, Alexis Peaucelle2, Anick Abourachid3
1Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057, Université de Paris/CNRS, 10 rue Alice Domont et Léonie Duquet, 75013, Paris, France. vincent.fleury@univ-paris-diderot.fr.
Theory in Biosciences = Theorie in Den Biowissenschaften
|June 15, 2021
Summary
Chicken embryo development reveals a ring and sector structure that transforms into antero-posterior tubes and perpendicular cylinders. This biophysical mechanism shapes the basic body plan and sensory organs.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Biophysics
- Embryology
Background:
- Early chicken embryo development exhibits a distinct structure of concentric rings and radial sectors.
- Understanding the physical forces driving embryonic morphogenesis is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the in vivo observations of early chicken embryo development.
- To elucidate the biophysical mechanisms shaping the embryonic body plan.
- To explore the generality of these mechanisms beyond the chicken embryo.
Main Methods:
- In vivo observation of chicken embryo development.
- Analysis of structural transformations driven by physical forces.
Main Results:
- The initial ring structure deforms into antero-posterior tubes (gut, neural tube, etc.).
- Radial sectors roll into cylinders perpendicular to the main body axis.
- Orifices like sensory organs form at right angles to the primary axis.
Conclusions:
- The observed structural transformation is a consequence of physical forces acting on the early embryonic pattern.
- This process generates the fundamental antero-posterior tube system and associated perpendicular structures.
- The underlying biophysical mechanism is proposed to be a general principle in embryonic development.
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