Mechanical Forces and Evolutionary Strategies in Gastrulation and Organ Development

The study reveals that the patterned invagination of the cephalic furrow in Drosophila prevents mechanical instability during gastrulation by absorbing compressive stresses caused by mitotic domains and germ band extension, with its formation regulated by specific gene expression patterns, and suggests that mechanical challenges have driven the evolution of this morphogenetic feature in dipteran flies.