The single-cell RNA-seq of S13/14 fruit shoulder of Capsella rubella. Capsella rubella

In animals and plants, organ shape is primarily determined during primordium development by carefully coordinated growth and cell division. Rare examples of post-primordial change in morphology (reshaping) exist that offer tractable systems to study mechanisms required for organ-shape determination and diversification. One such example is the heart-shape formation of Capsella fruits that occurs by reshaping the ovate spheroid gynoecium upon fertilization. Here we used single-cell RNA sequence (scRNA-Seq) analysis to show that dynamic changes in growth and cell division coupled with local maintenance of meristematic identity drives Capsella fruit-shape formation.