A Multiscale Framework for Actomyosin-Driven Pattern Formation and Phase Synchronization during Tissue Morphogenesis

Laha, Arkayan (2026) A Multiscale Framework for Actomyosin-Driven Pattern Formation and Phase Synchronization during Tissue Morphogenesis. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

Text (PhD thesis of Arkayan Laha (18RS018)) 18RS018.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (38MB)

Abstract

It is always fascinating to wonder about the development of a multicellular organism, starting from a single cell that divides and organizes into an embryo, eventually forming defined limbs and organs. Morphogenesis—the shaping of tissues—comprises an array of events such as collective cell migration, cell-shape oscillations, tissue invagination (inward folding), and cell intercalation (neighbor exchange), all driven by a thin, quasi-two-dimensional dynamic network of actin, myosin, and actin-binding proteins, located just beneath the cell membrane. We present a generic two-tier coarse-graining: a homogeneous mean field description valid at the global system scale and a mesoscopic, spatially resolved hydrodynamic continuum theory valid at scales above the microscopic correlation length. Both studies incorporate mechanosensing (cells’ ability to sense mechanical stimuli in their environment) and capture essential morphogenetic phenomena such as shape oscillations, reversible deformations, and irreversible (plastic) remodeling. The hydrodynamic model further uncovers propagating actomyosin waves, spatiotemporal chaos, local residual strains, and traveling localized contractile patterns like solitons. In addition, we develop a phase reduction technique (a general lowest-order perturbative approach that maps cells onto coupled phase oscillators) to investigate how junction mechanics control their synchronization. Overall, our framework bridges biology and mathematics, offering a unified platform to understand a wide spectrum of morphogenetic behaviors from intracellular actomyosin cortex dynamics to coordinated motion in cell monolayers, and phase synchronization during morphogenesis.

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