Integrating stomatal physiology and morphology: evolution of stomatal control and development of future crops

Abstract

Stomata are central players in the hydrological and carbon cycles, regulating the uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) for photosynthesis and transpirative loss of water (H2O) between plants and the atmosphere. The necessity to balance water-loss and CO2-uptake has played a key role in the evolution of plants, and is increasingly important in a hotter and drier world. The conductance of CO2 and water vapour across the leaf surface is determined by epidermal and stomatal morphology (the number, size, and spacing of stomatal pores) and stomatal physiology (the regulation of stomatal pore aperture in response to environmental conditions). The proportion of the epidermis allocated to stomata and the evolution of amphistomaty are linked to the physiological function of stomata. Moreover, the relationship between stomatal density and [CO2] is mediated by physiological stomatal behaviour; species with less responsive stomata to light and [CO2] are most likely to adjust stomatal initiation. These differences in the sensitivity of the stomatal density—[CO2] relationship between species influence the efficacy of the ‘stomatal method’ that is widely used to infer the palaeo-atmospheric [CO2] in which fossil leaves developed. Many studies have investigated stomatal physiology or morphology in isolation, which may result in the loss of the ‘overall picture’ as these traits operate in a coordinated manner to produce distinct mechanisms for stomatal control. Consideration of the interaction between stomatal morphology and physiology is critical to our understanding of plant evolutionary history, plant responses to on-going climate change and the production of more efficient and climate-resilient food and bio-fuel crops.

Quantitative effects of environmental variation on stomatal anatomy and gas exchange in a grass model

“…Consequently and as previously described (Franks & Beerling, 2009; Haworth et al, 2021; Zhang et al, 2021), we observed a strong negative correlation between SD and SL (Fig. 3A, D) and a strong correlation between anatomy and environment (Fig.…”

“…However, the putative systemic influence of the varying ambient conditions on gas exchange measurements is not generally accounted for. Furthermore, gas exchange parameters such as carbon assimilation (A), stomatal conductance to water vapor (g sw ), intrinsic water use efficiency (iWUE) and stomatal kinetics are influenced by anatomical traits such as stomatal density (SD) and stomatal length (SL) (Elliott-Kingston et al, 2016;Faralli et al, 2019;Haworth et al, 2021;Lawson & Blatt, 2014). SD and SL are negatively correlated and vary in response to a variety of environmental conditions such as T, RH, [CO 2 ] or Q out (Bertolino et al, 2019;L.…”

Changes in Polar Metabolites Content during Natural and Methyl-Jasmonate-Promoted Senescence of Ginkgo biloba Leaves

“…Abscisic acid (ABA) and JAs have been reported to play crucial roles in plant adaptation to stress conditions, and these phytohormones are involved in inducing stomatal closure as well [ 56 , 57 ]. Since stomata play a key role in the assimilation of carbon dioxide and transpiration, their function directly affects the efficiency of photosynthesis [ 58 ]. In our previous study, it was shown that the application of JA-Me to the abaxial side of Ginkgo leaves resulted in extremely induced leaf senescence [ 37 ].…”

The role of grapevine leaf morphoanatomical traits in determining capacity for coping with abiotic stresses: a review

“…This underlines that factors other than stomatal density might contribute to stomatal conductance values (Costa et al, 2012). Haworth et al (2021) referred that it is also important to consider the interaction between stomatal morphology and physiological behaviour as a way of interpreting stomatal conductance values.…”