Morphomechanical reactions and mechanically stressed structures in amphibian embryos, as related to gastrulation and axial organs formation

Abstract

Reactions of embryonic tissues to a distributed and concentrated stretching are described and compared with the mechanics of the normal gastrulation movements. A role of mechanically stressed dynamic cell structures in the gastrulation, demarcation of notochord borders and in providing proportionality of the axial rudiments is demonstrated. A morphomechanical scheme of amphibian gastrulation is presented.

Keywords: Blastopore; Cell stretching; Embryonic movements; Gastrula; Xenopus laevis.