David Strutt (University of Sheffield)

Mechanisms of symmetry breaking at molecular and cellular scales in planar polarity

Host: Stefan Luschnig

Planar polarity refers to the ability of structures in a developing tissue to adopt a common polarity and is a universal phenomenon in plant and animal morphogenesis. The best-studied molecular system that defines planar polarity in animal tissues is the Frizzled-dependent ‘core’ planar polarity pathway. This pathway functions by forming asymmetric intercellular protein complexes between neighbouring cells, with the polarity of these complexes having a constant orientation relative to the plane of the tissue. The establishment of core pathway planar polarity requires symmetry breaking at multiple levels. The first is establishing asymmetry within the intercellular complexes, the second is polarisation of complexes within individual cell junctions and cells, and the third is orienting polarity relative to the axes of the tissue. Ongoing work in the lab seeks to understand each of these steps and how they are integrated to produce a uniform pattern of planar polarity, using the Drosophila pupal wing as a model experimental system.

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