How we are shaped: The biomechanics of gastrulation

Although it is rarely considered so in modern developmental biology, morphogenesis is fundamentally a biomechanical process, and this is especially true of one of the first major morphogenic transformations in development, gastrulation. Cells bring about changes in embryonic form by generating patte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Differentiation (London) 2003-04, Vol.71 (3), p.171-205
Main Authors: Keller, Ray, Davidson, Lance A., Shook, David R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Cell differentiation, maturation, development, hematopoiesis
Cell physiology
Cell Polarity - physiology
chick
Chick Embryo
development
Embryo, Nonmammalian
Endoderm - physiology
evolution
Fishes
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gastrula - physiology
gastrulation
Mesoderm - physiology
Molecular and cellular biology
Morphogenesis
Movement - physiology
vertebrate
Xenopus laevis
Zebrafish
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Summary:Although it is rarely considered so in modern developmental biology, morphogenesis is fundamentally a biomechanical process, and this is especially true of one of the first major morphogenic transformations in development, gastrulation. Cells bring about changes in embryonic form by generating patterned forces and by differentiating the tissue mechanical properties that harness these forces in specific ways. Therefore, biomechanics lies at the core of connecting the genetic and molecular basis of cell activities to the macroscopic tissue deformations that shape the embryo. Here we discuss what is known of the biomechanics of gastrulation, primarily in amphibians but also comparing similar morphogenic processes in teleost fish and amniotes, and selected events in several species invertebrates. Our goal is to review what is known and identify problems for further research.
ISSN:0301-4681
1432-0436
DOI:10.1046/j.1432-0436.2003.710301.x