The interplay of tissue mechanics and gene regulatory networks in the evolution of morphogenesis

Abstract

Recent years have seen the growth of work illuminating the mechanical aspects of morphogenesis, but its relationship to the established ideas and evidence of developmental and evolutionary genetics remains enigmatic. This review aims to re-assess the conceptual relationship between mechanics and genetics in the context of animal morphogenesis. We propose a view in which genetic programs—understood as gene regulatory networks—and processes of physical self-organization are not conflicting models of development, but instead play necessary and complementary causal roles at cellular and supra-cellular length scales, respectively. Current evidence from evolutionary genetics supports the hypothesis that this form of complementarity may be necessary for morphogenesis to be evolvable.