Mechanochemical Interplay Drives Polarization in Cellular and Developmental Systems.

Polarity plays important roles in biological processes, such as motility, differentiation, growth, and pattern formation. One major goal in the field of biological polarity is to understand logics used by signaling networks underlying diverse polarization processes: symmetry breaking, amplification, inhibition, and coordination. In this essay, we explore various polarization processes on cell, tissue, and whole-organism scales, aiming to elucidate how diverse mechanical signals, in addition to chemical cues, can be integrated to a common framework of polarization.