The adult form of a multicellular organism is shaped by a series of morphogenetic processes
that organise the body into tissues and organs. Most of these events involve the deformation …

Animal cell cytokinesis requires a contractile ring of crosslinked actin filaments and myosin
motors. How contractile rings form and are stabilized in dividing cells remains unclear. We …

Epithelia form the building blocks of many tissue and organ types. Epithelial cells often form
a contiguous 2-dimensional sheet that is held together by strong adhesions. The mechanical …

As tissues develop, they are subjected to a variety of mechanical forces. Some of these
forces are instrumental in the development of tissues, while others can result in tissue …

Convergence and extension movements elongate tissues during development. Drosophila
germ-band extension (GBE) is one example, which requires active cell rearrangements …

Cell shape is known to influence the plane of cell division. In vitro, mechanical constraints
can also orient mitoses; however, in vivo it is not clear whether tension can orient the mitotic …

The Drosophila corneal lens is entirely composed of chitin and other apical extracellular
matrix components, and it is not known how it acquires the biconvex shape that enables it to …

Tricellular adherens junctions are points of high tension that are central to the
rearrangement of epithelial cells. However, the molecular composition of these junctions is …

Ovulation is critical for sexual reproduction and consists of the process of liberating
fertilizable oocytes from their somatic follicle capsules, also known as follicle rupture. The …

Chromatin organization plays a crucial role in tissue homeostasis. Heterochromatin
relaxation and consequent unscheduled mobilization of transposable elements (TEs) are …