Patterns of mitochondrial ATP predict tissue folding
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The construction of tissue shapes during embryonic development results from patterns of gene expression and mechanical forces fueled by chemical energy from ATP hydrolysis. We find that chemical energy is similarly patterned during apical constriction, which is widely used across the animal kingdom to fold epithelial tissues. Time-lapse imaging, spatial transcriptomics, and measurements of oxygen consumption rate reveal that mitochondrial density, potential, and ATP increase at the apical side of epithelial cells before actomyosin contraction and tissue folding, which is prevented by inhibiting oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondrial enrichment and apical bias are conserved during apical constriction in flies, chicks, and mice, and these patterns can be used to predict computationally patterns of tissue folding. These findings highlight a spatial dimension of bioenergetics in development.
Source: Science Advances
Institution: Princeton University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Awards: G1746067696, Mechanical Forces and the Regulation of Airway Progenitor Cells, G3603580073, Epigenomic control of the neural crest cis-regulatory landscape by TGF-beta signaling, G6536552022, Princeton Center for Complex Materials, RECODE: Using light and mechanics to monitor and control the differentiation of lung alveolar organoids, G9000054021, G9000216686, G9000352981, Amniotic fluid entrains embryo-wide branching morphogenesis, Cis regulatory control of avian bill morphogenesis, Mechanical Clocks During Fetal Development, Uncovering the mesenchyme-specific roles of planar cell polarity in lung development, Mechanisms of mRNA localization and translational control in Drosophila development, Interplay between mechanical forces and retinoic acid in lung development
OpenAlex ID: W4413873453