This paper reports a consistent and large opening response to light + CO(2)-free air in living stomata of isolated epidermal strips of Vicia faba. The response was compared to that of non-isolated stomata in leaf discs floating on water; stomatal apertures, guard cell solute potentials and starch contents were similar in the 2 situations. To obtain such stomatal behavior, it was necessary to fl...

Angiosperm and conifer tree species respond differently when exposed to elevated CO2, with angiosperms found to dynamically reduce water loss while conifers appear insensitive. Such distinct responses are likely to affect competition between these tree groups as atmospheric CO2 concentration rises. Seeking the mechanism behind this globally important phenomenon we targeted the Ca(2+)-dependent ...

Changing atmospheric CO2 levels, climate, and air humidity affect plant gas exchange that is controlled by stomata, small pores on plant leaves and stems formed by guard cells. Evolution has shaped the morphology and regulatory mechanisms governing stomatal movements to correspond to the needs of various land plant groups over the past 400 million years. Stomata close in response to the plant h...

Stomata are pores found on the surfaces of leaves, and they regulate gas exchange between the plant and the environment [1]. Stomatal development is highly plastic and is influenced by environmental signals [2]. Light stimulates stomatal development, and this response is mediated by plant photoreceptors [3-5], with the red-light photoreceptor phytochrome B (phyB) having a dominant role in white...

Stomata enable gaseous exchange between the interior of the leaf and the atmosphere through the stomatal pore. Control of the pore aperture depends on osmotic solute accumulation by, and its loss from the guard cells surrounding the pore. Stomata in most plants are separated by at least one epidermal cell, and this spacing is thought to enhance stomatal function, although there are several gene...

Light-induced stomatal responses were first reported by Darwin (1989). Stomata open in response to light, including blue and red light (Shimazaki et al., 2007). Red light induces stomatal opening via photosynthesis in the mesophyll and guard cell chloroplasts (Mott et al., 2008; Suetsugu et al., 2014). In contrast, blue light as a signal induces stomatal opening. Phototropins expressed in guard...

Plants, as sessile organisms, must coordinate various physiological processes to adapt to ever-changing surrounding environments. Stomata, the epidermal pores facilitating gas and water exchange, play important roles in optimizing photosynthetic efficiency and adaptability. Stomatal development is under the control of an intrinsic program mediated by a secretory peptide gene family--namely, EPI...

Stomata regulate gas exchange through the aerial plant epidermis by controlling the width of a pore bordered by two guard cells. Little is known about the genes that regulate stomatal development. We screened cotyledons from ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized seeds of Arabidopsis by light microscopy to identify mutants with altered stomatal morphology. Two mutants, designated too many mouths (t...

Guard cells generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in response to abscisic acid (ABA), which leads to stomatal closing. The upstream steps of the ABA-induced ROS generation pathway remain largely unknown. In animal cells, ROS generation in neutrophils is activated by phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate (PI3P). Stomatal guard cells contain PI3P and PI 3-kinase activity. In this study, we tested whe...

Production per amount of water used (water use efficiency, WUE) is closely correlated with drought tolerance. Although stomatal aperture can regulate WUE, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Previous reports revealed that stomatal closure was inhibited in the calcium-sensing receptor (CAS) antisense line of Arabidopsis (CASas). Here it is shown that decreased drought toleranc...