Speedy stomata of a C₄ plant correlate with enhanced K⁺ channel gating.

ABSTRACT: Stomata are microscopic pores at the surface of plant leaves that facilitate gaseous diffusion to support photosynthesis. The guard cells around each stoma regulate the pore aperture. Plants that carry out C₄ photosynthesis are usually more resilient than C₃ plants to stress, and their stomata operate over a lower dynamic range of CO₂ within the leaf. What makes guard cells of C₄ plants more responsive than those of C₃ plants? We used gas exchange and electrophysiology, comparing stomatal kinetics of the C₄ plant Gynandropsis gynandra and the phylogenetically related C₃ plant Arabidopsis thaliana. We found, with varying CO₂ and light, that Gynandropsis showed faster changes in stomata conductance and gr

SUBMITTER: Silva-Alvim FAL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10953386 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature