Morphogenesis drives the formation of functional living shapes. Gene expression patterns and signaling pathways define the body plans of the animal and control the morphogenetic processes shaping the embryonic tissues. During embryogenesis, a tissue can undergo composite morphogenesis resulting from multiple concomitant shape changes. While previous studies have unraveled the mechanisms that drive simple morphogenetic processes, how a tissue can undergo multiple and simultaneous changes in shape is still not known and not much explored. In this chapter, we focus on the process of concomitant tissue folding and extension that is vital for the animal since it is key for embryo gastrulation and neurulation. Recent pioneering studies focus on this problem highlighting the roles of different spatially coordinated cell mechanisms or of the synergy between different patterns of gene expression to drive composite morphogenesis.

形态发生驱动功能性生命形状的形成。基因表达模式和信号通路定义了动物的身体计划并控制塑造胚胎组织的形态发生过程。在胚胎发生过程中，组织可以经历由多种伴随的形状变化引起的复合形态发生。虽然之前的研究已经揭示了驱动简单形态发生过程的机制，但组织如何同时经历多种形状变化仍然未知，也没有太多探索。在本章中，我们将重点关注伴随的组织折叠和伸展过程，这对动物至关重要，因为它是胚胎原肠胚形成和神经形成的关键。