Sabine Schamberg, School of Mathematical Sciences, University of Nottingham, UK

"Modelling Planar Cell Polarity"

Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) is the phenomenon of a whole field of cells being polarised in a plane. It occurs in the epithelia of many animals and can lead to the alignment of hairs, scales, bristles and feathers. In our work we focus on the wings of the fruit fly Drosophila, in which polarity becomes obvious because each cell elaborates a single hair that points distally. 
This talk will comprise two types of modelling approaches. First, I will present models that assess the nature of PCP in a generic setting and then discuss the results of our analysis of existing, more complex models that include very detailed assumptions about the underlying protein interactions. I will describe the features of the different types of mechanisms and determine the conditions under which they can yield polarity. Furthermore, I will present the effects of clonal clusters of cells on the polarity of the surrounding cells in our models and relate them to the phenotypes observed in experiments.