A quantitative image-based protocol for morphological characterization of cellular solids in feather shafts.

During morphogenesis, cellular sheets undergo dynamic folding to build functional forms. Here, we develop an image-based quantitative morphology field (QMorF) protocol that quantifies the morphological features of cellular structures and associated distributions. Using feather shafts with different rigidities as examples, QMorF performs coarse-graining statistical measurements of the fitted cellular objects over a micro-image stack, revealing underlying mechanical coupling and developmental clues. These images give intuitive representations of mechanical forces and should be useful for analyzing tissue images showing clear cellular features. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Chang et al. (2019).