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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Proliferation symmetry breaking in growing tissues

Xinzhi Li, Aniruddha Datta, and Shiladitya Banerjee*

  • *Contact author: sbanerjee347@gatech.edu
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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L012014 – Published 14 January, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jgll-wsvt

Abstract

Morphogenesis of developing tissues results from anisotropic growth, typically driven by polarized patterns of gene expression. Here, we propose a self-organized model of anisotropic growth driven by feedback between cell polarity, mechanical pressure, and cell division rates. Specifically, cell polarity alignment can induce spontaneous symmetry breaking in proliferation, resulting from the anisotropic distribution of mechanical pressure in the tissue. We show that proliferation anisotropy can be controlled by cellular elasticity, motility, and contact inhibition, elucidating the fundamental design principles for anisotropic morphogenesis.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. Research 8, L012014– Published 14 January, 2026
  • Received 2 September 2024
  • Accepted 21 October 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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