Abstract

Anna Dai and Martine Ben Amar LPENS   & Sorbonne University The embryonic elongation of C. elegans  represents an attractive model of matter reorganization occurring without mass increase in an initial egg. Within four hours, the embryo elongates along the anterior/posterior axis by four times and its circumference reduces one-third. Unlike the embryonic development of Drosophila and Zebrafish, there is neither cell migration, cell division nor a notable change but only a noticeable epidermis elongation which  drives the whole morphogenetic before hatching. The identified driving forces are  the actomyosin contractility  of  the epidermis and the muscle activity that starts after the 1.8-fold stage. The late elongation shows cyclic periods of bending, rotation and torsion depending on the activation of the muscles. In this talk I will present experimental results of the Labouesse’s group and models which explain the role of the different active filaments in the embryo.