A 3D morpho-space of sepal geometry reveals the importance of organ curvature

How robust three-dimension (3D) organ shape emerges during morphogenesis is a fundamental question in biology. Addressing this question requires a comprehensive quantification of organ geometry in 3D. To tackle these issues, we considered the sepal of Arabidopsis as a model. Using a unique pipeline allowing to recover 3D sepal morphology, we analysed fifteen mutants affected in different pathways. The results of a Principal Component Analysis reveal sepal curvature as an important parameter accounting for variations in sepal morphology within genotypes. Unexpectedly, despite genetic homogeneity of the wild-type plants and reproducible culture conditions, we found a significant level of variability in sepal morphology. Our data also show that sepal shape from wild-type plants is more robust (less variable) than sepal size, hinting to a possible selective pressure on shape parameters.