Diverse 3D cellular patterns underlie the development of Cardamine hirsuta and Arabidopsis thaliana ovules

A fundamental question in biology is how organ morphogenesis comes about. The ovules of Arabidopsis thaliana have been established as a successful model to study numerous aspects of tissue morphogenesis; however, little is known regarding the relative contributions and dynamics of differential tissue and cellular growth and architecture in establishing ovule morphogenesis in different species. To address this issue, we generated a 3D digital atlas of Cardamine hirsuta ovule development with full cellular resolution. We combined quantitative comparative morphometrics and topological analysis to explore similarities and differences in the 3D cellular architectures underlying ovule development of the two species. We discovered that they show diversity in the way the three radial cell layers of the primordium contribute to its growth, in the formation of a new cell layer in the inner integument and, in certain cases, in the topological properties of the 3D cell architectures of homologous tissues despite their similar shape. Our work demonstrates the power of comparative 3D cellular morphometry and the importance of internal tissues and their cellular architecture in organ morphogenesis. Summary StatementQuantitative morphometric comparison of 3D digital ovules at full cellular resolution reveals diversity in internal 3D cellular architectures between similarly shaped ovules of Cardamine hirsuta and Arabidopsis thaliana.