Temperature scaling of developmental tempo reveals reaction-dominated morphogen patterning

Abstract

A central question in developmental biology is how embryonic patterning remains robust when developmental tempo changes. In ectotherms, temperature strongly alters developmental speed and biochemical reaction rates, whereas diffusion is expected to change only weakly. How morphogen gradients required for patterning remain correctly scaled under these conditions is unclear. We addressed this problem in medaka embryos by quantifying developmental speed, morphogen clearance, diffusion, and endogenous Nodal dynamics across a broad temperature range. Developmental tempo, morphogen production, clearance, and tissue movement increased approximately two- to threefold per 10{degrees}C, whereas effective morphogen diffusion remained largely unchanged. Despite this mismatch, germ-layer proportions and morphogen patterning remained robust. Our mathematical simulations suggest that this robustness arises because the system operates in a reaction-dominated regime, in which changes in reaction and growth kinetics - rather than diffusion - are sufficient to rescale morphogen gradients. Together, our experiments and simulations provide new insights into how morphogen gradients adjust to maintain accurate tissue patterning across changes in developmental time and tempo.

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BibTeX RIS

BibTeX

@misc{capek2026temperature,
  title = {{Temperature scaling of developmental tempo reveals reaction-dominated morphogen patterning}},
  author = {D. Capek and T. Eich and A. Kögler and H. Morales-Navarrete and O. Riabtsev and T. Thumberger and L. Floeth and J. Bihler and B. Bajoghli and J. Wittbrodt and P. Müller},
  howpublished = {bioRxiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.64898/2026.10.06.757014},
  url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757014v1},
  note = {CC BY},
}

RIS

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Temperature scaling of developmental tempo reveals reaction-dominated morphogen patterning
AU  - D. Capek
AU  - T. Eich
AU  - A. Kögler
AU  - H. Morales-Navarrete
AU  - O. Riabtsev
AU  - T. Thumberger
AU  - L. Floeth
AU  - J. Bihler
AU  - B. Bajoghli
AU  - J. Wittbrodt
AU  - P. Müller
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/06
PB  - bioRxiv
DO  - 10.64898/2026.10.06.757014
UR  - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.06.757014v1
AB  - A central question in developmental biology is how embryonic patterning remains robust when developmental tempo changes. In ectotherms, temperature strongly alters developmental speed and biochemical reaction rates, whereas diffusion is expected to change only weakly. How morphogen gradients required for patterning remain correctly scaled under these conditions is unclear. We addressed this problem in medaka embryos by quantifying developmental speed, morphogen clearance, diffusion, and endogenous Nodal dynamics across a broad temperature range. Developmental tempo, morphogen production, clearance, and tissue movement increased approximately two- to threefold per 10{degrees}C, whereas effective morphogen diffusion remained largely unchanged. Despite this mismatch, germ-layer proportions and morphogen patterning remained robust. Our mathematical simulations suggest that this robustness arises because the system operates in a reaction-dominated regime, in which changes in reaction and growth kinetics - rather than diffusion - are sufficient to rescale morphogen gradients. Together, our experiments and simulations provide new insights into how morphogen gradients adjust to maintain accurate tissue patterning across changes in developmental time and tempo.
ER  -

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