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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 3: Tissue Mechanics I
BP 3.10: Talk
Monday, March 9, 2026, 12:15–12:30, BAR/0205
Hydrodynamic theory of two-dimensional human gastruloid development — •Oliver M. Drozdowski1, Chloé Roffay2, Sarah Jay2, Diana Pinheiro2, and Edouard Hannezo1 — 1Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria — 2Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria
Gastrulation is a crucial stage of embryonic development, as it entails the formation of the three germ layers. Two-dimensional in-vitro systems derived from human embryonic stem cells, so-called gastruloid discs, recapitulate the underlying patterning mechanisms, resulting in the formation of concentric rings of extraembryonic amnion-like cells at the edge and the three germ layers. Starting from experimental data of flattening amnion-like cells at the gastruloid edge, we developed a cross-sectional bubbly vertex model to describe the observed columnar to squamous transition. In agreement with experimentally measured morphometrics and mechanical properties, cell flattening is shown to be driven by local active wetting. Since gastruloids display fluid-like tissue properties, we developed a hydrodynamic description of the tissue-scale dynamics derived from the vertex model. This model predicts a gastruloid morphology consistent with experimental observations, suggesting that local cellular mechanics contribute to human gastruloid shape dynamics.
Keywords: gastruloids; bubbly vertex model; active gel theory