Quantifying morphogenesis in plants in 4D

Plant development occurs in 3D space over time (4D). Recent advances in image acquisition and computational analysis are now enabling development to be visualized and quantified in its entirety at the cellular level. The simultaneous quantification of reporter abundance and 3D cell shape change enables links between signaling processes and organ morphogenesis to be accomplished organ-wide and at single cell resolution. Current work to integrate this quantitative 3D image data with computational models is enabling causal relationships between gene expression and organ morphogenesis to be uncovered. Further technical advances in imaging and image analysis will enable this approach to be applied to a greater diversity of plant organs and will become a key tool to address many questions in plant development.