Self-organized patterning of cell morphology via mechanosensitive feedback

Abstract

Tissue organization is often characterized by specific patterns of cell morphology. How such patterns emerge in developing tissues is a fundamental open question. Here, we investigate the emergence of tissue-scale patterns of cell shape and mechanical tissue stress in the <i>Drosophila</i> wing imaginal disc during larval development. Using quantitative analysis of the cellular dynamics, we reveal a pattern of radially oriented cell rearrangements that is coupled to the buildup of tangential cell elongation. Developing a laser ablation method, we map tissue stresses and extract key parameters of tissue mechanics. We present a continuum theory showing that this pattern of cell morphology and tissue stress can arise via self-organization of a mechanical feedback that couples cell polarity to active cell rearrangements. The predictions of this model are supported by knockdown of MyoVI, a component of mechanosensitive feedback. Our work reveals a mechanism for the emergence of cellular patterns in morphogenesis.