The paper shows that tissue mechanics, not gene patterning, determine the scaling of collective cell migration velocity with tissue size during development.

bioRxiv · Aug 20, 2026 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

Morphodynamic domains enable integration of live morphometrics and spatial transcriptomics

Adrien Leroy, Eric van Leen, Maria Balakireva, Lale Alpar, Fabian Gärtner, Isabelle Gaugué, Stéphane Pelletier, Rémi Pigache, Mehdi Ech-Chouini, Julien Delpierre, Stéphane U. Rigaud, Floris Bosveld, Lorette Noiret, Yohanns Bellaı̈che

The paper introduces a framework to integrate spatial transcriptomics with live morphometrics to infer gene regulatory networks and validate gene function in Drosophila thorax development.

bioRxiv · Aug 14, 2026 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology

Hepatoblast iterative apicobasal polarization is regulated by extracellular matrix remodeling

Julien Delpierre, José Ignacio Valenzuela, Matthew J. Bovyn, Nuno Pimpão Martins, Lenka Belicová, Urška Repnik, Maarten P. Bebelman, Sarah Seifert, Pierre A. Haas, Yannis L. Kalaidzidis, Marino Zerial

The paper identifies a new mechanism of hepatoblast polarization during liver development, showing that ECM remodeling and cell-autonomous processes drive multiaxial polarity and lumen formation.

bioRxiv · Jan 30, 2024 · PreprintDevelopmental Biology