Berlin 2008 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 26: Posters II
BP 26.39: Poster
Thursday, February 28, 2008, 17:00–19:30, Poster A
Formation of Compartment Boundaries in Growing Tissues — •Jonas Ranft1, Katharina Landsberg2, Thomas Bittig1, Reza Farhadi Far1, Amani Said2, Christian Dahmann2, and Frank Jülicher1 — 1Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Nöthnitzer Straße 38, 01187 Dresden, Germany — 2Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Pfotenhauerstraße 108, 01307 Dresden, Germany
During the development of living organisms, tissues grow due to cell division. As the tissues grow, sharp boundaries between different cell populations within the tissue can emerge. The position of such compartment boundaries plays an important role in the patterning of the tissue. However, the mechanisms of the formation of these boundaries remain still unclear. We developed a stochastic model to describe epithelial tissue growth. The dynamics is described by balancing potential forces with friction forces that account for tissue viscosity. The potential forces describe adhesive forces as well as elastic forces. Our simulations show that a reduced attraction between cells of different types (which corresponds to a reduced cell-cell adhesion) can lead to the dynamic formation of a straight boundary during the growth process. This is a possible explanation of the presence of a straight interface between two cell populations with similar bulk mechanical properties.