Elastic instability in growing yeast colonies.
The differential adhesion between cells is believed to be the major driving force behind the formation of tissues. The idea is that an aggregate of cells minimizes the overall adhesive energy between cell surfaces. We demonstrate in a model experimental system that there exist conditions where a slowly growing tissue does not minimize this adhesive energy. A mathematical model demonstrates that the instability of a spherical shape is caused by the competition between elastic and surface energies.
Nguyen
Baochi
B
Department of Mathematics and Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Upadhyaya
Arpita
A
van Oudenaarden
Alexander
A
Brenner
Michael P
MP
D000268:Adhesiveness; D000362:Agar / Q000737:chemistry; D001703:Biophysics / Q000379:methods*; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D004548:Elasticity; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000502:physiology*; D013816:Thermodynamics
D000362:Agar