
Control of guard cell aperture by protein kinase CIPK23
Guard cells are responsible for the opening and closing of stomata through changes in osmotic content and turgor pressure. These changes occur in response to activation or inactivation of ion transport proteins that are in turn regulated by protein kinase and phosphatase networks. The kinase network…

Improving water use efficiency in maize
Blankenagel et al. discover a major link between variation in water use efficiency and carbon isotope discrimination
By Sonja Blankenagel, Stella Eggels, and Viktoriya Avramova
Plant Breeding, TUM School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich
Background: Growing crops with high…

Misregulation of MYB16 expression causes stomatal cluster formation by disrupting polarity during asymmetric cell divisions (Plant Cell)
Water loss during photosynthesis is limited by specialized plant cells such as stomata, as well as cuticle formation on the epidermis. In Arabidopsis thaliana, stomata lineage is a good system in which to elucidate the interplay between biochemical signals and mechanical properties during leaf development.…

The coordination between stomata and cuticles
Yang et al. reveal the coordination between stomatal development and cuticle formation. Plant Cell https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab260
By Shao-Li Yang and Chin-Min Kimmy Ho
Background: The plant epidermis is composed of functionally specialized cells, such as the valves on the leaf surface known…

Pectate lyases prune pectin to potentiate stomatal dynamics
Chen et al. uncover the effects of a pectate lyase-like gene on cell wall mechanics and cell pressurization in guard cells. The Plant Cell (2021) https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab161
By Yintong Chen and Charles T. Anderson
Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University…

Deceleration of cell cycle underpins a switch from proliferative-to-terminal division in plant stomatal lineage (bioRxiv)
Precise cell cycle control is essential for the differentiation of specialized cell types. Stomata, essential pores for gas exchange located in the epidermis, are generated via proliferative asymmetric cell division (ACD) of a transient stem cell called a meristemoid, which will give rise to a guard…

A spatiotemporal molecular switch governs plant asymmetric cell division (Nature Plants)
In multicellular organisms, stem cells produce various cell types through asymmetric cell division (ACD), which is achieved is through polarization of cell-fate determinant proteins in the ACD progenitor cells. In Arabidopsis stomatal development, an ACD progenitor cell, the meristemoid mother cell (MMC),…

How Blue and Red Light Synergistically Drive Stomatal Opening
Hosotani et al. explore the molecular mechanisms that modulate stomatal opening under different light conditions.
by Sakurako Hosotani and Atsushi Takemiya (Yamaguchi University)
Background: Opening of stomatal pores is essential for photosynthetic CO2 fixation and transpiration in terrestrial…

Extrapolating physiological response to drought through step-by-step analysis of water potential
Guillaume Charrier
Université Clermont Auvergne, INRAE, PIAF, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
guillaume.charrier@inrae.fr
Water potential (Ψ) defines the energy required to move water between the different compartments of a closed system. Water flows passively in the direction of decreasing…