Coordinating cell polarization and morphogenesis through mechanical feedback

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Samhita P. Banavar - , University of California at Santa Barbara (Author)
  • Michael Trogdon - , University of California at Santa Barbara (Author)
  • Brian Drawert - , University of North Carolina at Asheville (Author)
  • Tau Mu Yi - , University of California at Santa Barbara (Author)
  • Linda R. Petzold - , University of California at Santa Barbara (Author)
  • Otger Campàs - , Chair of Tissue Dynamics, Clusters of Excellence PoL: Physics of Life, University of California at Santa Barbara (Author)

Abstract

Many cellular processes require cell polarization to be maintained as the cell changes shape, grows or moves. Without feedback mechanisms relaying information about cell shape to the polarity molecular machinery, the coordination between cell polarization and morphogenesis, movement or growth would not be possible. Here we theoretically and computationally study the role of a genetically-encoded mechanical feedback (in the Cell Wall Integrity pathway) as a potential coordination mechanism between cell morphogenesis and polarity during budding yeast mating projection growth. We developed a coarse-grained continuum description of the coupled dynamics of cell polarization and morphogenesis as well as 3D stochastic simulations of the molecular polarization machinery in the evolving cell shape. Both theoretical approaches show that in the absence of mechanical feedback (or in the presence of weak feedback), cell polarity cannot be maintained at the projection tip during growth, with the polarization cap wandering off the projection tip, arresting morphogenesis. In contrast, for mechanical feedback strengths above a threshold, cells can robustly maintain cell polarization at the tip and simultaneously sustain mating projection growth. These results indicate that the mechanical feedback encoded in the Cell Wall Integrity pathway can provide important positional information to the molecular machinery in the cell, thereby enabling the coordination of cell polarization and morphogenesis.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere1007971
JournalPLOS computational biology
Volume17
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 28 Jan 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 33507956