{"paper_id":"2bea0a0e-c518-441e-99d3-33fcd26b1cae","body_text":"Spatiotemporal Coordination of Active Deformation Forces and Wnt / Hippo-Yap Signalling in Hydra Regeneration | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Spatiotemporal Coordination of Active Deformation Forces and Wnt / Hippo-Yap Signalling in Hydra Regeneration Motomu Tanaka, Ryo Suzuki, Tetsuya Hiraiwa, Anja Tursch, Stefanie Hoeger, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6006616/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract There is substantial evidence that Wnt signalling and tissue deformation are key determinants of pattern formation in animals. The coordination of these biochemical and biomechanical spatiotemporal asymmetries is often unknown or controversial. We investigated this relationship by studying regeneration in the freshwater polyp Hydra. In both, reaggregates of dissociated cells and regenerated tissues, we found significant waves of tissue contraction and upregulation of Wnt signalling. Applying a simple mechanical model to the mode analysis of the active deformations, we quantitatively defined the phase reversal of size change and axial deformation in these oscillations as the time point of “biomechanical” body axis formation. Furthermore, modulation of canonical Wnt signalling shifted the timing of this phase reversal. Direct comparison with RNAseq data indicates that “biomechanical” body axis formation occurs only after upregulation of canonical Wnt signalling. Further data suggest that biochemical signalling and mechanical forces synergistically stabilize the body axis and thus subsequent head formation by Hippo-Yap signalling. The bilateral symmetry-breaking mechanism identified here in Hydra most likely represents an evolutionary conserved patterning module from early metazoans to bilaterians. Biological sciences/Biophysics Physical sciences/Physics/Biological physics Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SuzukietalNatCommunHydraSBSIsubmitted.pdf Datasets S1 - S4 Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-6006616\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":true,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":414431322,\"identity\":\"e3ef2757-2b22-4546-9be7-20e0479d7e30\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Motomu Tanaka\",\"email\":\"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYJACxgYGGwYGZgY2BgYDZgY+CbAgM07lPBAtaQgtbERqOQxis4FVEtRiz3724McZNecTt7MzsD34UGAtxybdfOzjFwZrOZy28OQlS244djtxZzMDu+EMg3RjNpljybNlGNKNcTssx0DyAdvtxA2H+b9J8xgcTmyTyDFmlmA4nNiASwv/G+OfD/6dA2phYJP+Y3C4vk0i/zNISz1OLRI5ZpIb2w5AtDAYHE5gk8hhZvzAcDgBp8NuvDGznNmXbAzSItljkG7YJnPMmJkByMBlC3t/jvHNnm92shvOH2CT+PHHWp5fuvkx448Ka3lctmAHzDwGpGkARu4PUnWMglEwCkbBcAYA4MtPwkUUBMMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\",\"orcid\":\"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3663-9554\",\"institution\":\"Heidelberg University\",\"correspondingAuthor\":true,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Motomu\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Tanaka\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431323,\"identity\":\"8a31b9b9-037c-466a-ab09-558fc2730086\",\"order_by\":1,\"name\":\"Ryo Suzuki\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"Keio University\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Ryo\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Suzuki\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431324,\"identity\":\"14ae82d4-258b-4514-a235-511565c3e16a\",\"order_by\":2,\"name\":\"Tetsuya Hiraiwa\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3221-345X\",\"institution\":\"National University of Singapore\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Tetsuya\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Hiraiwa\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431325,\"identity\":\"d9cc757d-8401-4a38-8e7f-a36a8133b786\",\"order_by\":3,\"name\":\"Anja Tursch\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4456-4882\",\"institution\":\"Heidelberg University\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Anja\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Tursch\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431326,\"identity\":\"efdcaa5c-80d3-4397-ad1c-1e10b4dcf9e5\",\"order_by\":4,\"name\":\"Stefanie Hoeger\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"Heidelberg University\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Stefanie\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Hoeger\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431327,\"identity\":\"11bd4fbc-329f-411b-b30f-a2d1b49bb9ca\",\"order_by\":5,\"name\":\"Kentaro Hayashi\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"Nationlal Institute for Basic Biology\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Kentaro\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Hayashi\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431328,\"identity\":\"6ecfb9ec-9104-4f64-a808-d20667b3601c\",\"order_by\":6,\"name\":\"Suat Özbek\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2569-3942\",\"institution\":\"University of Heidelberg\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Suat\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Özbek\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":414431329,\"identity\":\"f0132a74-51b1-4782-80d4-77bcbfc63208\",\"order_by\":7,\"name\":\"Thomas Holstein\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0480-4674\",\"institution\":\"Heidelberg University\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Thomas\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Holstein\",\"suffix\":\"\"}],\"badges\":[],\"createdAt\":\"2025-02-11 10:55:19\",\"currentVersionCode\":1,\"declarations\":\"\",\"doi\":\"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6006616/v1\",\"doiUrl\":\"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6006616/v1\",\"draftVersion\":[],\"editorialEvents\":[],\"editorialNote\":\"\",\"failedWorkflow\":false,\"files\":[{\"id\":101297497,\"identity\":\"a16bfc5c-9e48-45fe-8a3c-70c65fbfb3cd\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2026-01-28 09:27:27\",\"extension\":\"pdf\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"manuscript-pdf\",\"size\":2473800,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"Article File\",\"description\":\"\",\"filename\":\"SuzukietalNatCommunHydraSBMSsubmitted.pdf\",\"url\":\"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6006616/v1_covered_b0f4f1e9-e8ae-48c5-8bf2-878772da4ede.pdf\"},{\"id\":76636152,\"identity\":\"558aa376-9659-4fe9-9c02-72bd3776ef1e\",\"added_by\":\"auto\",\"created_at\":\"2025-02-19 07:35:27\",\"extension\":\"pdf\",\"order_by\":1,\"title\":\"\",\"display\":\"\",\"copyAsset\":false,\"role\":\"supplement\",\"size\":1599661,\"visible\":true,\"origin\":\"\",\"legend\":\"Datasets S1 - 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