Manon Valet
Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life, TU Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
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Temperature scaling of body axis morphogenesis in zebrafish
How do living organisms achieve functional shape generation? This is an old problem, yet a very active research field combining expertise going from theoretical physics to the genetic manipulation of developmental pathways. One of the important remaining questions is the scaling of developmental speed with temperature [1]. Here, we take advantage of a framework combining live imaging at different spatial scales with mechanical perturbations [2] to study the effect of environmental temperature variations on the embryogenesis of zebrafish.
During its early development, the zebrafish embryo undergoes somitogenesis and anteroposterior elongation. At 25°C, it is established that this elongation relies on a fluid-to-solid transition at the tip of the tail. The area that will give rise to somites solidifies progressively, stabilizing the shaping of the tail [2]. During this developmental progression, cell-cell interactions can be related to the tissue-scale physics using an active foam model [3].
To explore how temperature affects morphogenetic fields and its impact on developmental speed, we first measure how cellular flows are affected by a change in temperature. We then investigate how those dynamical changes can be linked to material properties and sub-cellular processes, using a custom-built temperature-controlled stage [4]. The ability to perform controlled changes in temperature while measuring the physical state of the tissue will help us reveal how temperature changes affect embryonic morphogenesis, from subcellular to tissue scales.
