Open AccessSorting at embryonic boundaries requires high heterotypic interfacial tension
Author(s) -
Laura Canty,
Eleyine Zarour,
Leily Kashkooli,
Paul François,
François Fagotto
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
nature communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.559
H-Index - 365
ISSN - 2041-1723
DOI - 10.1038/s41467-017-00146-x
Subject(s) - mesoderm , ectoderm , xenopus , embryonic stem cell , tension (geology) , cell sorting , adhesion , sorting , microbiology and biotechnology , contractility , cell adhesion , ephrin , mechanotransduction , biology , biophysics , chemistry , materials science , cell , computer science , embryogenesis , embryo , genetics , signal transduction , organic chemistry , endocrinology , ultimate tensile strength , gene , metallurgy , programming language
The establishment of sharp boundaries is essential for segregation of embryonic tissues during development, but the underlying mechanism of cell sorting has remained unclear. Opposing hypotheses have been proposed, either based on global tissue adhesive or contractile properties or on local signalling through cell contact cues. Here we use ectoderm–mesoderm separation in Xenopus to directly evaluate the role of these various parameters. We find that ephrin-Eph-based repulsion is very effective at inducing and maintaining separation, whereas differences in adhesion or contractility have surprisingly little impact. Computer simulations support and generalise our experimental results, showing that a high heterotypic interfacial tension between tissues is key to their segregation. We propose a unifying model, in which conditions of sorting previously considered as driven by differential adhesion/tension should be viewed as suboptimal cases of heterotypic interfacial tension.