Research report 2025 - Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
Mechanical forces drive evolutionary change
Authors
Vellutini, Bruno.; Cuenca, Marina; Krishna, Abhijeet ; Szałapak, Alicja ; Modes, Carl D.; Tomancak, Pavel
Departments
Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik, Dresden
Summary
The research group of Pavel Tomancak is bridging two research fields - evolutionary developmental biology and tissue morphogenesis. Together with the group of Carl Modes at MPI-CBG, they show that the absence of a tissue fold known as the cephalic furrow leads to an increase in the mechanical instability of embryonic tissues and that the primary sources of mechanical stress are cell divisions and tissue movements. This instability may have contributed to the evolution of the cephalic furrow. This shows that mechanical forces can shape the evolution of new developmental features.
