Flow-driven control of pulse width in excitable media.

Models of pulse formation in nerve conduction have provided manifold insight not only into neuronal dynamics but also the nonlinear dynamics of pulse formation in general. Recent observation of neuronal electrochemical pulses also driving mechanical deformation of the tubular neuronal wall, and thereby generating ensuing cytoplasmic flow, now question the impact of flow on the electrochemical dynamics of pulse formation. Here, we theoretically investigate the classical Fitzhugh-Nagumo model, now accounting for advective coupling between the pulse propagator typically describing membrane potential and triggering mechanical deformations, and thus governing flow magnitude, and the pulse controller, a chemical species advected with the ensuing fluid flow.

Feedback from Tissue Mechanics Self-Organizes Efficient Outgrowth of Plant Organ.

Plant organ outgrowth superficially appears like the continuous mechanical deformation of a sheet of cells. Yet, how precisely cells as individual mechanical entities can act to morph a tissue reliably and efficiently into three dimensions during outgrowth is still puzzling, especially when cells are tightly connected as in plant tissue. In plants, the mechanics of cells within a tissue is particularly well-defined because individual cell growth is essentially the mechanical yielding of the cell wall in response to internal turgor pressure.

Strain- or Stress-Sensing in Mechanochemical Patterning by the Phytohormone Auxin.

Both chemical and mechanical fields are known to play a major role in morphogenesis. In plants, the phytohormone auxin and its directional transport are essential for the formation of robust patterns of organs, such as flowers or leaves, known as phyllotactic patterns. The transport of auxin was recently shown to be affected by mechanical signals, and conversely, auxin accumulation in incipient organs affects the mechanical properties of the cells.

Oscillatory fluid flow drives scaling of contraction wave with system size.

Flows over remarkably long distances are crucial to the functioning of many organisms, across all kingdoms of life. Coordinated flows are fundamental to power deformations, required for migration or development, or to spread resources and signals. A ubiquitous mechanism to generate flows, particularly prominent in animals and amoebas, is actomyosin cortex-driven mechanical deformations that pump the fluid enclosed by the cortex.

Elongation and shape changes in organisms with cell walls: A dialogue between experiments and models.

The generation of anisotropic shapes occurs during morphogenesis of almost all organisms. With the recent renewal of the interest in mechanical aspects of morphogenesis, it has become clear that mechanics contributes to anisotropic forms in a subtle interaction with various molecular actors. Here, we consider plants, fungi, oomycetes, and bacteria, and we review the mechanisms by which elongated shapes are generated and maintained.

Cell division plane orientation based on tensile stress in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Cell geometry has long been proposed to play a key role in the orientation of symmetric cell division planes. In particular, the recently proposed Besson-Dumais rule generalizes Errera's rule and predicts that cells divide along one of the local minima of plane area. However, this rule has been tested only on tissues with rather local spherical shape and homogeneous growth.

Mechanical Stress Induces Remodeling of Vascular Networks in Growing Leaves.

Differentiation into well-defined patterns and tissue growth are recognized as key processes in organismal development. However, it is unclear whether patterns are passively, homogeneously dilated by growth or whether they remodel during tissue expansion. Leaf vascular networks are well-fitted to investigate this issue, since leaves are approximately two-dimensional and grow manyfold in size.

Symmetry breaking in spore germination relies on an interplay between polar cap stability and spore wall mechanics.

The morphogenesis of single cells depends on their ability to coordinate surface mechanics and polarity. During germination, spores of many species develop a polar tube that hatches out of a rigid outer spore wall (OSW) in a process termed outgrowth. However, how these awakening cells reorganize to stabilize this first growth axis remains unknown.