Different Leaf Anatomical Responses to Water Deficit in Maize and Soybean.

ABSTRACT: The stomata on leaf surfaces control gas exchange and water loss, closing during dry periods to conserve water. The distribution and size of stomatal complexes is determined by epidermal cell differentiation and expansion during leaf growth. Regulation of these processes in response to water deficit may result in stomatal anatomical plasticity as part of the plant acclimation to drought. We quantified the leaf anatomical plasticity under water-deficit conditions in maize and soybean over two experiments. Both species produced smaller leaves in response to the water deficit, partly due to the reductions in the stomata and pavement cell size, although this response was greater in soybean, which also produced thicker leaves under severe stress, whereas the maize leaf thickness did not change.

SUBMITTER: Mano NA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9966819 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature