News Releases & Research Results Discovery of a mechanism for coordinating morphology and functions in animal development ―Cell differentiation is directed by morphological changes―

News Releases & Research Results

Outline

Results of the research by a group of Program-specific Assistant Professor Takefumi Kondo of the Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, and Team Leader Shigeo Hayashi of the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research.

Key points of research results

  • The relationship and coordination between the acquisition of functions (biochemical phenomena) and morphological changes (physical phenomena) through cell differentiation regulation during organogenesis remain unclear.
  • The study demonstrated the existence of a new mechanism by which tissue morphology controls the direction of cell differentiation during animal development.
  • Specifically, a detailed analysis of morphologically abnormal Drosophila embryos revealed that cells coordinated morphology and functions through a feedback mechanism for controlling their differentiation depending on tissue morphology.
  • The results important findings in improving the artificial development technology of complex tissues and organs.

This research was conducted with the support of Advanced Research & Development Programs for Medical Innovation by AMED.

The results of research were published in eLife, a British international journal in August 2019.

Article

08/29/19

Last updated 08/29/19