Theoretical tool bridging cell polarities with development of robust morphologies

Abstract
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Abstract

Despite continual renewal and damages, a multicellular organism is able to maintain its complex morphology. How is this stability compatible with the complexity and diversity of living forms? Looking for answers at protein level may be limiting as diverging protein sequences can result in similar morphologies. Inspired by the progressive role of apical-basal and planar cell polarity in development, we propose that stability, complexity, and diversity are emergent properties in populations of proliferating polarized cells. We support our hypothesis by a theoretical approach, developed to effectively capture both types of polar cell adhesions. When applied to specific cases of development – gastrulation and the origins of folds and tubes – our theoretical tool suggests experimentally testable predictions pointing to the strength of polar adhesion, restricted directions of cell polarities, and the rate of cell proliferation to be major determinants of morphological diversity and stability.

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. MatLab code to reproduce or generate new data is added as a supplementary zip file together with a MatLab script to visualize the data.

Article and author information

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Silas Boye Nissen

Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-9473-4755
Steven Rønhild

Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Ala Trusina

Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

For correspondence
trusina@nbi.ku.dk

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Kim Sneppen

Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

For correspondence
sneppen@nbi.dk

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-9820-3567

Funding

Danmarks Grundforskningsfond (DNRF116)

Silas Boye Nissen
Ala Trusina

Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007/2013/ERC no. 740704)

Kim Sneppen

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.