News Overview

On Friday, January 20 at 2 pm (CET), Pierre Haas from Dresden will be giving a talk on Cutting Through the Mechanics of Cell Sheet Folding as part of the Next Generation Seminar Series of Theory@EMBL at EMBL in Hei­del­berg:

Title: Cutting Through the Mechanics of Cell Sheet Folding
Abstract: The folding of cellular monolayers is a crucial step of multicellular development, including gastrulation, neurulation, and organogenesis, and is often driven by localized "large bending deformations" of apical constriction and cell wedging. The simplest process in which to study its mechanics is perhaps the inversion of the green alga Volvox, the spherical embryos of which turn themselves inside out through a programme of cell shape changes. In the first part of my talk, I will show how a theo­re­ti­cal model in which apical constriction and cell wedging appear as variations of the intrinsic curvatures of an elastic shell reproduces Volvox inversion quantitatively. I will highlight the novel mechanics resulting from these large bending deformations. In the second part of my talk, I will present recent laser ablation experiments revealing additional geometric incompatibilities between the local intrinsic curvature of the cell sheet and its global shape. I will discuss the mechanics of the resulting residual torques in the cell sheet and show how even small incompatibilities of this kind affect tissue folding. This suggests a more global picture of the mechanics of tissue folding, which does not therefore rely on localized apical constriction and cell wedging only, but also on other, more subtle cell shape changes in other parts of the tissue.
Time & place: Friday, January 20th 2023, EMBL Large Operon and via Zoom
Host: Virginie Uhlmann

If you would like to meet with the speaker (individually or in small groups), please sign up for a slot here (contact: Lizette Michele De Paula, EMBL.)
The STRUC­TURES Project Management Office is happy to answer questions.