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Published in

eLife Sciences Publications, eLife, (10), 2021

DOI: 10.7554/elife.63262

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A digital 3D reference atlas reveals cellular growth patterns shaping the Arabidopsis ovule

This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

A fundamental question in biology is how morphogenesis integrates the multitude of processes that act at different scales, ranging from the molecular control of gene expression to cellular coordination in a tissue. Using machine-learning-based digital image analysis, we generated a three-dimensional atlas of ovule development inArabidopsis thaliana, enabling the quantitative spatio-temporal analysis of cellular and gene expression patterns with cell and tissue resolution. We discovered novel morphological manifestations of ovule polarity, a new mode of cell layer formation, and previously unrecognized subepidermal cell populations that initiate ovule curvature. The data suggest an irregular cellular build-up ofWUSCHELexpression in the primordium and new functions forINNER NO OUTERin restricting nucellar cell proliferation and the organization of the interior chalaza. Our work demonstrates the analytical power of a three-dimensional digital representation when studying the morphogenesis of an organ of complex architecture that eventually consists of 1900 cells.