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A new hypothesis for foregut and heart tube formation based on differential growth and actomyosin contraction
Author(s) -
Hadi Hosseini,
Kara Garcia,
Larry A. Taber
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.754
H-Index - 325
eISSN - 1477-9129
pISSN - 0950-1991
DOI - 10.1242/dev.145193
Subject(s) - foregut , biology , morphogenesis , anatomy , contraction (grammar) , heart development , microbiology and biotechnology , developmental biology , mesoderm , embryo , contractility , endoderm , embryonic stem cell , endocrinology , genetics , gene
For decades, it was commonly thought that the bilateral heart fields in the early embryo fold directly toward the midline, where they meet and fuse to create the primitive heart tube. Recent studies have challenged this view, however, suggesting that the heart fields fold diagonally. Since early foregut and heart tube morphogenesis are intimately related, this finding also raises questions concerning the traditional view of foregut formation. Here, we combine experiments on chick embryos with computational modeling to explore a new hypothesis for the physical mechanisms of heart tube and foregut formation. According to our hypothesis, differential anisotropic growth between mesoderm and endoderm drives diagonal folding. Then, active contraction along the anterior intestinal portal generates tension to elongate the foregut and heart tube. We test this hypothesis using biochemical perturbations of cell proliferation and contractility, as well as computational modeling based on nonlinear elasticity theory including growth and contraction. The present results generally support the view that differential growth and actomyosin contraction drive formation of the foregut and heart tube in the early chick embryo.

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