DECIPHERING THE DYNAMIC REGULATIONS OF THE PRECISE CELL MATCHING

Abstract

It has been an age-old question about the embryo development: how the cells find their partners correctly in a complicated cellular environment? Various molecules being important in this cell matching process. However, the underlying mechanisms, especially the dynamics, remain elusive. Here, we explored this by applying the cardiogenesis in the Drosophila as a simplified matching system. We found that cell matching is particularly robust at boundaries between cardioblast (CB) subtypes of which their filopodia show distinct binding affinities. We identified the adhesion molecules Fas3 and Ten-m as having complementary expression patterns in CBs and regulating CB matching. Focusing on Myosin II, showing ‘wave’ like dynamics within the CBs, we found that coordination between Myosin II oscillations and differential filopodia connectivity is essential in ensuring robust cell matching. Combined, these results suggest that the mechanical properties of cells are precisely tuned to provide a ‘proofreading’ machinery to ensure robust cell matching.