Identification and characterization of compounds that affect stomatal movements ($) (Plant Cell Physiol)

Toh et al. screened more than 20,000 chemicals from chemical libraries for compounds that regulate stomatal movement. They used Commelina benghalensis for their screen, as its stomata are about twice as large as those in Arabidopsis thaliana. They identified nine compounds that inhibited stomatal opening in the light, which they called SCL1 – 9, one of which, SCL1 (tert-butylhydroquinone), also strongly inhibits fusicoccin-induced opening. SCL1 interferes with blue-light induced phosphorylation of the plasma-membrane proton ATPase, and appears to act independently of ABA. When sprayed onto leaves, SCL1 conferred drought tolerance to both monocots and dicots. (Summary by Mary Williams) Plant Cell Physiol. 10.1093/pcp/pcy061