Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD) Drives the Balance of Hydraulic-Related Anatomical Traits in Lettuce Leaves.

ABSTRACT: The coordination of leaf hydraulic-related traits with leaf size is influenced by environmental conditions and especially by VPD. Water and gas flows are guided by leaf anatomical and physiological traits, whose plasticity is crucial for plants to face environmental changes. Only a few studies have analysed how variations in VPD levels influence stomatal and vein development and their correlation with leaf size, reporting contrasting results. Thus, we applied microscopy techniques to evaluate the effect of low and high VPDs on the development of stomata and veins, also analysing leaf functional traits. We hypothesized that leaves under high VPD with a modified balance between veins and stomata face higher transpiration. We also explored the variability of stomata and vein density across th

SUBMITTER: Amitrano C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9502365 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature