Cell shape changes drive tissue morphogenesis during animal development. An important example is the apical cell constriction that initiates tissue internalisation. Apical constriction can occur through a phase of cyclic assembly and disassembly of apicomedial actomyosin networks, followed by stabilisation of these networks. Delayed negative-feedback mechanisms typically underlie cyclic behavio...

During development, morphogenetic processes require a precise coordination of cell differentiation, cell shape changes and, often, cell migration. Yet, how pattern information is used to orchestrate these different processes is still unclear. During lateral line (LL) morphogenesis, a group of cells simultaneously migrate and assemble radially organized cell clusters, termed rosettes, that prefi...

The optic vesicle develops as an evagination of the cephalic neural folds. We have examined the early development of the optic vesicle in Swiss Webster mice using correlated transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), light microscopic (LM) measurements of cell shape changes, immunohistochemical localization of basal lamina (BL) components (type IV collagen, lami...

A ring consisting of microfilaments was found in the apical region of Tetrahymena thermophila wild-type strain B and janus mutant. This ring, about 0.4 micrometer wide and 0.2 micrometer thick, is located at the bases of the anterior, non-ciliated basal bodies of the apical ciliary couplets. The apical ring is made of fine filaments showing a banded pattern, the distance between bands depending...

Integrating individual cell movements to create tissue-level shape change is essential to building an animal. We explored mechanisms of adherens junction (AJ):cytoskeleton linkage and roles of the linkage regulator Canoe/afadin during Drosophila germband extension (GBE), a convergent-extension process elongating the body axis. We found surprising parallels between GBE and a quite different morp...