On the growth and form of the gut

Thierry Savin, Natasza A. Kurpios, Amy E. Shyer, Patricia Florescu, Haiyi Liang, L. Mahadevan () and Clifford J. Tabin
Additional contact information
Thierry Savin: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Natasza A. Kurpios: Harvard Medical School
Amy E. Shyer: Harvard Medical School
Patricia Florescu: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Haiyi Liang: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
L. Mahadevan: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
Clifford J. Tabin: Harvard Medical School

Nature, 2011, vol. 476, issue 7358, 57-62

Abstract: Abstract The developing vertebrate gut tube forms a reproducible looped pattern as it grows into the body cavity. Here we use developmental experiments to eliminate alternative models and show that gut looping morphogenesis is driven by the homogeneous and isotropic forces that arise from the relative growth between the gut tube and the anchoring dorsal mesenteric sheet, tissues that grow at different rates. A simple physical mimic, using a differentially strained composite of a pliable rubber tube and a soft latex sheet is consistent with this mechanism and produces similar patterns. We devise a mathematical theory and a computational model for the number, size and shape of intestinal loops based solely on the measurable geometry, elasticity and relative growth of the tissues. The predictions of our theory are quantitatively consistent with observations of intestinal loops at different stages of development in the chick embryo. Our model also accounts for the qualitative and quantitative variation in the distinct gut looping patterns seen in a variety of species including quail, finch and mouse, illuminating how the simple macroscopic mechanics of differential growth drives the morphology of the developing gut.

Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature10277 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:476:y:2011:i:7358:d:10.1038_nature10277

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature10277

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().