How we are shaped: The biomechanics of gastrulation

How we are shaped: The biomechanics of gastrulation

Although it is rarely considered so in modern developmental biology, morphogenesis is fundamentally a biomechanical process, and this is especially true of one of the first major morphogenic transformations in development, gastrulation. Cells bring about changes in embryonic form by generating patterned forces and by differentiating the tissue mechanical properties that harness these forces in specific ways. Therefore, biomechanics lies at the core of connecting the genetic and molecular basis of cell activities to the macroscopic tissue deformations that shape the embryo. Here we discuss what is known of the biomechanics of gastrulation, primarily in amphibians but also comparing similar morphogenic processes in teleost fish and amniotes, and selected events in several species invertebrates. Our goal is to review what is known and identify problems for further research.

尽管在现代发育生物学中很少这样认为，但形态发生从根本上说是一个生物力学过程，对于发育过程中最早的主要形态发生转变之一——原肠胚形成来说尤其如此。细胞通过产生有模式的力以及分化组织的力学特性（以特定方式利用这些力）来引起胚胎形态的变化。因此，生物力学是将细胞活动的遗传和分子基础与塑造胚胎的宏观组织变形相联系的核心。在此，我们主要讨论两栖动物原肠胚形成的生物力学已知情况，同时也比较硬骨鱼和羊膜动物中类似的形态发生过程，以及几种无脊椎动物的特定事件。我们的目标是回顾已知情况并确定有待进一步研究的问题。