Confinement promotes nematic alignment of spindle-shaped cells during Drosophila embryogenesis.

Tirthankar Ray, Damo Shi, Tony J C Harris

Abstract read

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Article in Development (Cambridge, England), 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

Actuation of Cell Layers in Three Dimensions.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026
Article

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Tirthankar RayDepartment of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada.

Damo ShiDepartment of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada.

Tony J C HarrisDepartment of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G5, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-0798-970X

Funding

Resource Component: Acquisition, maintenance and distribution of Drosophila stocksP40OD018537 · OD · TRUSTEES OF INDIANA UNIVERSITY · PI Annette L. Parks · 2014 to 2026

$13.5M

CIHR 82829CIHR Operating Grant 82829NIH HHS P40 OD018537University of Toronto

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tissue morphogenesis is often controlled by actomyosin networks pulling on adherens junctions (AJs), but junctional myosin levels vary. At an extreme, the Drosophila embryo amnioserosa forms a horseshoe-shaped strip of aligned, spindle-shaped cells lacking junctional myosin. What are the bases of amnioserosal cell interactions and alignment? Compared with surrounding tissue, we find that amnioserosal AJ continuity has lesser dependence on α-catenin, the mediator of AJ-actomyosin association, and greater dependence on Bazooka/Par-3, a junction-associated scaffold protein. Microtubule bundles also run along amnioserosal AJs and support their long-range curvilinearity. Amnioserosal confinement is apparent from partial overlap of its spindle-shaped cells, its outward bulging from surrounding tissue and from compressive stress detected within the amnioserosa. Genetic manipulations that alter amnioserosal confinement by surrounding tissue also result in amnioserosal cells losing alignment and gaining topological defects characteristic of nematically ordered systems. With Bazooka depletion, confinement by surrounding tissue appears to be relatively normal and amnioserosal cells align despite their AJ fragmentation. Overall, the fully elongated amnioserosa appears to form through tissue-autonomous generation of spindle-shaped cells that nematically align in response to confinement by surrounding tissue.

Indexed as

Adherens JunctionsDrosophila ProteinsEmbryonic DevelopmentActomyosinalpha CateninAnimalsCell ShapeDrosophilaDrosophila melanogasterEmbryo, NonmammalianIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsMicrotubulesMorphogenesisActomyosinalpha Cateninbaz protein, DrosophilaDrosophila ProteinsIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsAmnioserosaConfinementDrosophila embryoNematic orderSpindle-shape cells

Identifiers

PMID38864272

DOI10.1242/dev.202577

PMCPMC11234378

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