Summary
The development and function of a multicellular organism depend as much on the signalling and patterning programs encoded in its genome as in the physical forces acting upon and exerted by its constituent cells. Because genes produce the individual players of cellular functions, genetic analyses are very successful in discovering the pathways that control the development of plants and animals. However, the ultimate players in the formation of tissues are the cells. Mechanical forces created and exerted by cells can stabilize tissues for reliable tissue development and performance, while they can also modify their structures allowing organs to respond to demand or recover from damage. Signaling gradients and genetic oscillations involved in patterning show remarkable precision in specifying cell states, while at the same time responding rapidly to changes in tissue morphogenesis. This combination of robustness and flexibility is a challenge for the cells and the genome, and both a driving force and a constraint for the evolution of organisms. However, it is still poorly understood how the genome and the mechanical cellular environment interact, and how the global morphogenetic processes controlled by them influence each other.
QuanTissue represents a multi-disciplinary project whose main objective is to bring together experts from complementary disciplines with a firm interest in a quantitative understanding of the basic mechanisms that govern morphogenetic processes at subcellular to tissue levels. It has become evident that imaginative and refined experimental strategies based on genetics, imaging, quantitative and biophysical approaches, combined with the exploration of the fullest potential of mathematical modeling are necessary to understand cellular and developmental biology. We aim to form an interactive and collaborative network to bridge the gap between traditionaldevelopmental cell biology, biophysics and systems biology. We believe that the constitution of the QuanTissue network is a necessary first step towards this goal.
Duration
Five years, from May 2011 to May 2016
External Web page
More information is available on the external web page.
