Abstract

Cytoskeletal mechanical forces shape tissues during development. Although the role of the actomyosin machinery is extensively studied, how microtubules actively generate forces to shape tissues remains unknown. Combining in vivo experiments and simulations, this study elucidates that initial cell elongation during fly wing development is not driven by myosin contractility or external forces. Instead, protrusive forces generated by planar polarized noncentrosomal microtubules actively drive cell elongation, while myosin contractility is needed for final cell shape refinement. Thus ordered coordination between microtubules and actomyosin shapes the fly wing. This study will appeal to the broad cell and developmental biology community as it strengthens the growing notion that microtubules are active morphogenetic effectors. Beyond their core functions in cell division and intracellular transport, microtubule-mediated forces can directly dictate cell and tissue shape during development.

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