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The morphogenetic process of germ band retraction in Drosophila embryos involves coordinated movements of two epithelial tissues - germ band and amnioserosa. The germ band shortens along its rostral-caudal or head-to-tail axis, widens along its perpendicular dorsal-ventral axis, and uncurls from an initial 'U' shape. The amnioserosa mechanically assists this process by pulling on the crook of the U-shaped germ band. The amnioserosa may also provide biochemical signals that drive germ band cells to change shape in a mechanically autonomous fashion. Here, we use a finite-element model to investigate how these two contributions reshape the germ band. We do so by modeling the response to laser-induced wounds in each of the germ band's spatially distinct segments (T1-T3, A1-A9) during the middle of retraction when segments T1-A3 form the ventral arm of the 'U', A4-A7 form its crook, and A8-A9 complete the dorsal arm. We explore these responses under a range of externally applied stresses and internal anisotropy of cell edge tensions - akin to a planar cell polarity that can drive elongation of cells in a direction parallel to the minimum edge tension - and identify regions of parameter space (edge-tension anisotropy versus stress anisotropy) that best match previous experiments for each germ band segment. All but three germ band segments are best fit when the applied stress anisotropy and the edge-tension anisotropy work against one another - i.e. , when the isolated effects would elongate cells in perpendicular directions. Segments in the crook of the germ band (A4-A7) have cells that elongate in the direction of maximum external stress, i.e ., external stress anisotropy is dominant. In most other segments, the dominant factor is internal edge-tension anisotropy. These results are consistent with models in which the amnioserosa pulls on the crook of the germ band to mechanically assist retraction. In addition, they suggest a mechanical cue for edge-tension anisotropy whereby cells do not globally orient their internal elongation axis towards the amnioserosa, but instead orient this axis perpendicular to the local principal stress direction.

We use laser hole drilling to assess the mechanics of an embryonic epithelium during development-in vivo and with subcellular resolution. We ablate a subcellular cylindrical hole clean through the epithelium and track the subsequent recoil of adjacent cells (on ms time scales). We investigate dorsal closure in the fruit fly with emphasis on apical constriction of amnioserosa cells. The mechanical behavior of this epithelium falls between that of a continuous sheet and a 2D cellular foam (a network of tensile interfaces). Tensile stress is carried both by cell-cell interfaces and by the cells' apical actin networks. Our results show that stress is slightly concentrated along interfaces (1.6-fold), but only in early closure. Furthermore, closure is marked by a decrease in the recoil power-law exponent, implying a transition to a more solid-like tissue. We use the site and stage dependence of the recoil kinetics to constrain how the cellular mechanics change during closure. We apply these results to test extant computational models.