ECM remodeling and spatial cell cycle coordination determine tissue growth kinetics

Summary During development, multicellular organisms undergo stereotypical patterns of tissue growth to yield organs of highly reproducible sizes and shapes. How this process is orchestrated remains unclear. Analysis of the temporal dynamics of tissue growth in the Drosophila abdomen reveals that cell cycle times are spatially correlated and that growth termination occurs through the rapid emergence of a population of arrested cells rather than a gradual slowing down of cell cycle time. Reduction in apical tension associated with tissue crowding has been proposed as a developmental growth termination mechanism. Surprisingly, we find that growth arrest in the abdomen occurs while apical tension increases, showing that in this tissue a reduction in tension does not underlie the mechanism of growth arrest. However, remodeling of the extracellular matrix is necessary for tissue expansion. Thus, changes in the tissue microenvironment, and a rapid exit from proliferation, control the formation of the adult Drosophila abdomen.