Quantifying Tissue Tension in the Granulosa Layer After Laser Surgery.

Tissue morphogenesis is driven by mechanical forces triggering cell movements and shape changes. Quantitatively measuring tension within tissues is of great importance for understanding the role of mechanical signals acting on the cell and tissue level during morphogenesis. Here we introduce laser ablation as a useful tool to probe tissue tension within the granulosa layer, an epithelial monolayer of somatic cells that surround the zebrafish female gamete during folliculogenesis. We describe in detail how to isolate follicles, mount samples, perform laser surgery, and analyze the data.