title: Morphogenesis and mechanical instability of a prestressed tissue.
abstract: We consider the issue of whether purely mechanical properties of biological systems can, in principle, play a significant role in morphogenesis. As a simple example, we model a spherically arranged epithelium that is symmetrically prestressed under the action of cytoskeletal elements. A three-dimensional exact bifurcation analysis indicates the existence of a critical radius beyond which, for a physiologically attainable prestress, the spherical organoid is mechanically unstable and will buckle. We conclude that the purely mechanical aspects of biological tissues may indeed play a role in morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Totafurno
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bjerknes
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology; D008954:Models, Biological; D009024:Morphogenesis