---
OA_place: repository
OA_type: green
_id: '22807'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: 'Cleavage - the series of rapid cell divisions that follow fertilization -
marks the onset of metazoan development and represents a deeply conserved evolutionary
process. Across animals, two principal modes exist: complete (holoblastic) and
incomplete (meroblastic) cleavage. While holoblastic cleavage resembles conventional
cytokinesis both in vitro and in vivo, the mechanisms underlying meroblastic cleavage
have remained poorly understood. Using zebrafish embryos as a model, we show that
meroblastic cleavage proceeds through a distinct two-step mechanism. The process
begins with the assembly and contraction of a large, arc-shaped actomyosin cable.
However, this contractile event alone is insufficient to complete division. A
second phase, driven by cadherin-mediated membrane adhesion, is required to invaginate
the furrow ridge. Strikingly, this transition depends on mechanical uncoupling
of the contractile cable from the surrounding cortex. We demonstrate that such
uncoupling arises from an active nematic instability, which both enhances contractility
along the cable and generates actin depletion zones that relieve lateral connections.
Together, these findings reveal that meroblastic cleavage is governed not by a
single actomyosin-based event but by a sequential interplay between cytoskeletal
contraction and cadherin-dependent adhesion, highlighting a mechanism fundamentally
distinct from canonical cytokinesis.'
acknowledgement: We are grateful to the members of the Hannezo and Heisenberg groups
for discussions and technical advice. We also thank the Imaging and Optics Facility
and the Lab Support Facility at ISTA for their continuous support. Y.I.L. acknowledges
funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme
under the Marie Skodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 101034413. The research was
supported by funding to C.-P.H. from the NOMIS Foundation (Project ID 1.844) and
to E.H. from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon
2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 851288).
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Xin
full_name: Tong, Xin
id: 50F65CDC-AA30-11E9-A72B-8A12E6697425
last_name: Tong
- first_name: Yuting I
full_name: Li, Yuting I
id: ee7a5ca8-8b71-11ed-b662-b3341c05b7eb
last_name: Li
- first_name: Joséphine
full_name: Schelle, Joséphine
last_name: Schelle
- first_name: Edouard B
full_name: Hannezo, Edouard B
id: 3A9DB764-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Hannezo
orcid: 0000-0001-6005-1561
- first_name: Carl-Philipp J
full_name: Heisenberg, Carl-Philipp J
id: 39427864-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
last_name: Heisenberg
orcid: 0000-0002-0912-4566
biorxivid: 1
citation:
ama: Tong X, Li YI, Schelle J, Hannezo EB, Heisenberg C-PJ. Non-canonical cytokinesis
driven by mechanical uncoupling via nematic flows and adhesion-based invagination.
bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2025.10.15.682552
apa: Tong, X., Li, Y. I., Schelle, J., Hannezo, E. B., & Heisenberg, C.-P. J.
(n.d.). Non-canonical cytokinesis driven by mechanical uncoupling via nematic
flows and adhesion-based invagination. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.15.682552
chicago: Tong, Xin, Yuting I Li, Joséphine Schelle, Edouard B Hannezo, and Carl-Philipp
J Heisenberg. “Non-Canonical Cytokinesis Driven by Mechanical Uncoupling via Nematic
Flows and Adhesion-Based Invagination.” BioRxiv, n.d. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.15.682552.
ieee: X. Tong, Y. I. Li, J. Schelle, E. B. Hannezo, and C.-P. J. Heisenberg, “Non-canonical
cytokinesis driven by mechanical uncoupling via nematic flows and adhesion-based
invagination,” bioRxiv. .
ista: Tong X, Li YI, Schelle J, Hannezo EB, Heisenberg C-PJ. Non-canonical cytokinesis
driven by mechanical uncoupling via nematic flows and adhesion-based invagination.
bioRxiv, 10.1101/2025.10.15.682552.
mla: Tong, Xin, et al. “Non-Canonical Cytokinesis Driven by Mechanical Uncoupling
via Nematic Flows and Adhesion-Based Invagination.” BioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2025.10.15.682552.
short: X. Tong, Y.I. Li, J. Schelle, E.B. Hannezo, C.-P.J. Heisenberg, BioRxiv (n.d.).
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-09-04T12:32:21Z
date_published: 2025-10-15T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-09-10T09:58:16Z
day: '15'
department:
- _id: EdHa
- _id: CaHe
doi: 10.1101/2025.10.15.682552
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
biorxivid:
- 2025.10.15.682552
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.15.682552
language:
- iso: eng
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.15.682552
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Preprint
project:
- _id: fc2ed2f7-9c52-11eb-aca3-c01059dda49c
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '101034413'
name: 'IST-BRIDGE: International postdoctoral program'
- _id: 05943252-7A3F-11EA-A408-12923DDC885E
call_identifier: H2020
grant_number: '851288'
name: Design Principles of Branching Morphogenesis
- _id: 9B861AAC-BA93-11EA-9121-9846C619BF3A
name: NOMIS Fellowship Program
publication: bioRxiv
publication_status: draft
related_material:
record:
- id: '22804'
relation: dissertation_contains
status: for_moderation
status: public
title: Non-canonical cytokinesis driven by mechanical uncoupling via nematic flows
and adhesion-based invagination
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by_nc.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
short: CC BY-NC (4.0)
type: preprint
user_id: 8b945eb4-e2f2-11eb-945a-df72226e66a9
year: '2025'
...