Fruit shape in the model plant Arabidopsis comes from tissues pushing and pulling on each other as they grow at different speeds. Fast-growing outer walls stretch the slow central strip that holds the seeds, which affects how many seeds the fruit can make.
1
Rapid valve expansion mechanically stretches the replum, amplifying its elongation; reducing valve growth lowers replum anisotropy and limits ovule production.
2
Removing one valve causes reproducible bending of the gynoecium toward the slower-growing replum.
3
After fertilization, replum cell files elongate faster than valves, and when this elongation is constrained the replum buckles, reorienting tissue-level growth.
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