Theory of defect-mediated morphogenesis

Abstract

Growing experimental evidence indicates that topological defects could serve as organizing centers in the morphogenesis of tissues. Here, we provide a quantitative explanation for this phenomenon, rooted in the buckling theory of deformable active polar liquid crystals. Using a combination of linear stability analysis and computational fluid dynamics, we demonstrate that active layers, such as confined cell monolayers, are unstable to the formation of protrusions in the presence of disclinations. The instability originates from an interplay between the focusing of the elastic forces, mediated by defects, and the renormalization of the system's surface tension by the active flow. The posttransitional regime is also characterized by several complex morphodynamical processes, such as oscillatory deformations, droplet nucleation, and active turbulence. Our findings offer an explanation of recent observations on tissue morphogenesis and shed light on the dynamics of active surfaces in general.

10 pages, 3 figures. 5 pages, 2 figure Supplementary Information. Minor edits and some clarifications added

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Cited by in corpus (31)

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• Spontaneous Self-Constraint in Active Nematic Flows
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• Shape-tension coupling produces nematic order in an epithelium vertex model
• Morphodynamics of Active Nematic Fluid Surfaces
• A numerical approach for fluid deformable surfaces with conserved enclosed volume
• Odd elasticity and topological waves in active surfaces
• Kinematics and dynamics of disclination lines in three-dimensional nematics
• Microdomains and Stress Distributions in Bacterial Monolayers on Curved Interfaces
• Tubulation and dispersion of oil by bacterial growth on droplets
• Tuneable defect-curvature coupling and topological transitions in active shells
• Hydrodynamic Enhancement of $p$-atic Defect Dynamics
• Morphological instability at topological defects in a three-dimensional vertex model for spherical epithelia
• Topological Phases and Curvature-Driven Pattern Formation in Cholesteric Shells
• The interplay of geometry and coarsening in multicomponent lipid vesicles under the influence of hydrodynamics
• Mechanochemical Topological Defects in an Active Nematic
• Shapes and dynamic regimes of a polar active fluid droplet under confinement
• Machine learning topological defects in confluent tissues
• Active Filaments on Curved Surfaces: From Single Filaments to Dilute Suspensions
• Topological signatures of collective dynamics and turbulent-like energy cascades in apolar active granular
• Passive defect driven morphogenesis in nematic membranes
• Anti-hyperuniform Critical States of Active Topological Defects
• Topological defects in polar active matter
• Hydrodynamic stability and pattern formation in hexatic epithelial layers
• Spontaneous flow created by active topological defects
• Geometry and dynamics of spring networks of spherical topology
• Defect binding-unbinding transition in active nematic membranes
• Defect Interactions Through Periodic Boundaries in Two-Dimensional $p$-atics