Coupling Vgll4b/Yap regulated posterior cell addition with anterior vacuolation enables robust notochord elongation

Robust tissue growth control requires long-range communication between the rate of progenitor addition and tissue expansion. However, the regulatory mechanisms that couple these processes are unknown. In zebrafish, notochord morphogenesis is a driver of axis extension through both posterior progenitor addition and anterior vacuolation. To elucidate how progenitor dynamics and vacuole-driven cell expansion interact to elongate the notochord, we generated a mathematical model linking progenitor addition rate to the expansion of cells from anterior-to-posterior to simulate vacuolation rate. Comparing this with empirical measurements, we find that progenitor incorporation together with vacuolation, produces a linear gradient in nearest neighbour distance. We next explored the role of YAP/TAZ in regulating progenitor addition in mutants for YAP/TAZ inhibitor vgll4b. We find that vgll4b expression and YAP activity are enriched in posterior midline progenitors. Loss of vgll4b elevates YAP signaling, enhances progenitor addition, restricts vacuole expansion, and—after a transient buffering phase—compromises A-P axis elongation. These results support a long-range feedback mechanism linking progenitor recruitment to vacuolation, enabling the notochord to balance cellular input with volumetric expansion, thereby maintaining tissue proportions.