Modulation of tissue growth heterogeneity by responses to mechanical stress

Significance The two hands of most humans almost superimpose. Likewise, flowers of an individual plant have similar shapes and sizes. This is in striking contrast with growth and deformation of cells during organ morphogenesis, which feature considerable variations in space and in time, raising the question of how organs and organisms reach well-defined sizes and shapes. To link cell and organ scales, we built a theoretical model of growing tissue with fiber-like structural elements that may account for animal cytoskeleton or extracellular matrix, or for the plant cell wall. We show that the response of fibers to growth-induced mechanical stress may enhance or reduce cellular variability of growth, making it possible to modulate the robustness of morphogenesis.