Recent Posts

Subsidiary cells mediate stomatal closure in maize

Stomata are pores on leaves which enable gas exchange. In grasses, stomata are surrounded by dumbbell-shaped guard cells that are flanked by subsidiary cells. However, the role of the subsidiary cells in stomatal closure is not fully understood. Here, Liu et al. investigated this using two maize (Zea…

Grasses exploit geometry for improved guard cell dynamics

Stomata are pores on the surface of leaves essential for gas exchange. In grasses, stomatal aperture is controlled by pairs of dumbbell shaped guard cells, with each guard cell surrounded by a subsidiary cell. Despite cell geometry being well described, it was unclear how it influences stomata function.…

Helping out a neighbor: What FAMA tells us about specialization among stomatal genes across different species

Author et al. explore the genes involved in making stomata in a temperate grass. Katelyn Hansen-McKown and Dominique Bergmann, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University and Howard Hughes Medical Institution. Background: Plants are essential players in global carbon and water…

Microtubule control during stomatal movement

Wang et al. investigate the function of SPR1 in ABA-induced stomatal closure By Pan Wang and Sijia Qi State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry; Department of Plant Sciences, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China Background: Drought…

At the right time and in the right place: WPRs functions in maize stomatal development

Nan et al. examine the localization of key factors in maize stomatal development. Qiong Nan and Michelle Facette Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA Background: Stomata are small pores on the plant surface that open and close to allow gas exchange––allowing…

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…