Self-organization of active epithelial mechanics

Date

May 28, 2026

Time

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Speaker

Dr. Fridtjof Brauns

Affiliation

MPI–PKS and MPI–CBG

Series

TUD ZIH Kolloquium

Language

en

Main Topic

Informatik

Other Topics

Biologie, Informatik, Medizin, Willkommen

Host

Dr. Hartmut Mix

Description

Shape changes of epithelia during animal development, such as convergent extension, are achieved through the concerted mechanical activity of individual cells. While much is known about the corresponding large-scale tissue flow and its genetic drivers, fundamental questions regarding local control of contractile activity on the cellular scale and its embryo-scale coordination remain open. To address these questions, we develop a quantitative, model-based analysis framework to relate cell geometry to local tension in recently obtained time-lapse imaging data of gastrulating Drosophila embryos. This analysis systematically decomposes cell shape changes and T1 rearrangements into internally driven, active, and externally driven, passive, contributions. Our analysis provides evidence that germ band extension is driven by active T1 processes that self-organize through positive feedback acting on junctional tensions. This mechanical self-organization allows the tissue to remodel internally, to change shape like a fluid, while resisting external forces, like a solid. Together our findings explain how controlled tissue shape change emerges from the interplay of bottom-up local self-organization with the top-down, embryo-scale regulation by gene expression.

Fridtjof earned his PhD in Physics at LMU Munich under the supervision of Prof. Erwin Frey. He then spent four years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, California. Since 2025, Fridtjof leads a Research Group at MPI–PKS and MPI–CBG. His work focusses on the physical principles that biology uses to generate forms and patterns.

ONLINE BBB: Link ZIH-Colloquia (https://bbb.tu-dresden.de/b/har-oa6-col-lmy)

Links

• Webseite
• Termindetails auf den Webseiten der TU Dresden (https://tu-dresden.de)

Last modified: May 28, 2026, 7:35:23 AM