Title: Admp regulates tail bending by controlling ventral epidermal cell polarity 1 via phosphorylated myosin translocation (115/120 char.) Admp regulates the cell-cell intercalation of ventral epidermal cells The evolutionary roles of Admp

early stages of the intercalation, each ventral epidermal cell exhibited a boat-shaped 29 morphology (boat cell) with a narrow apical surface in which phosphorylated myosin 30 (pMLC) accumulated. In the Admp MO, the number of the boat cells reduced and 31 pMLC was observed at the basal side in the A dmp MO embryo. Finally, laser cutter 32 experiments showed a pMLC-dependent relaxation of the ventral tail bending, which 33 was observed when each ventral midline epidermal cell was cut along the apico-basal 34 axis. Based on these results, we propose a novel function for Admp , in which Admp 35 controls the pMLC translocation to the apical side of the ventral epidermal cells and 36 leads the tail bending by ventral resistance to the notochord extension.