Dynamical forces drive cell and organ morphology changes during embryonic development

Cells, tissues, and organs must change shape in precise ways during
embryonic development to execute their functions. Multiple mechanisms
including biochemical signaling pathways and biophysical forces help drive
these morphology changes, but it has been difficult to tease apart their
contributions, especially from tissue-scale dynamic forces that are
typically ignored. We use a combination of mathematical models and in vivo
experiments to study a simple organ in the zebrafish embryo called
Kupffer’s vesicle. Modeling indicates that dynamic forces generated by
tissue movements in the embryo produce shape changes in Kupffer’s vesicle
that are observed during development. Laser ablations in the zebrafish
embryo that alter these forces result in altered organ shapes matching
model predictions. These results demonstrate that dynamic forces sculpt
cell and organ shape during embryo development.