Abstract
Basement membranes (BMs) are planar protein networks that support epithelial function. Regulated changes to BM architecture can also contribute to tissue morphogenesis, but how epithelia dynamically remodel their BMs is unknown. In Drosophila, elongation of the initially spherical egg chamber correlates with the generation of a polarized network of fibrils in its surrounding BM. Here, we use live imaging and genetic manipulations to determine how these fibrils form. BM fibrils are assembled from newly synthesized proteins in the pericellular spaces between the egg chamber's epithelial cells and undergo oriented insertion into the BM by directed epithelial migration. We find that a Rab10-based secretion pathway promotes pericellular BM protein accumulation and fibril formation. Finally, by manipulating this pathway, we show that BM fibrillar structure influences egg chamber morphogenesis. This work highlights how regulated protein secretion can synergize with tissue movement to build a polarized BM architecture that controls tissue shape.
