組織形態形成における多様性と安定性の理解に向けた非線形連続体力学に基づくエネルギー地形アプローチの提案

抄録

Tissue morphogenesis in development is mechanically regulated by multi-cellular activities such as proliferation and constriction. Despite identifying the underlying molecular and cellular behaviors, the regulatory mechanism of how various tissue morphologies are robustly formed even under fluctuation is still unclear. In this study, we proposed a novel approach to capture the overall view of morphogenesis based on nonlinear continuum mechanics. We described the landscape of strain energy accumulated in the morphogenetic process, in which mechanically admissible process is represented by a path on the energy landscape. This approach enables us to understand the variety and robustness in tissue morphogenesis from mechanical viewpoints by exploring the behavior of local stable states on the energy landscape.