Guard cell and subsidiary cell sizes are key determinants for stomatal kinetics and drought adaptation in cereal crops

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dc.contributor.authorRui, M.
dc.contributor.authorChen, R.
dc.contributor.authorJing, Y.
dc.contributor.authorWu, F.
dc.contributor.authorChen, Z.H.
dc.contributor.authorTissue, D.
dc.contributor.authorJiang, H.
dc.contributor.authorWang, Y.
dc.date.issued2024
dc.description.abstractClimate change-induced drought is a major threat to agriculture. C₄ crops have a higher water use efficiency (WUE) and better adaptability to drought than C₃ crops due to their smaller stomatal morphology and faster response. However, our understanding of stomatal behaviours in both C₃ and C₄ Poaceae crops is limited by knowledge gaps in physical traits of guard cell (GC) and subsidiary cell (SC). We employed infrared gas exchange analysis and a stomatal assay to explore the relationship between GC/SC sizes and stomatal kinetics across diverse drought conditions in two C₃ (wheat and barley) and three C₄ (maize, sorghum and foxtail millet) upland Poaceae crops. Through statistical analyses, we proposed a GCSC-τ model to demonstrate how morphological differences affect stomatal kinetics in C₄ Poaceae crops. Our findings reveal that morphological variations specifically correlate with stomatal kinetics in C₄ Poaceae crops, but not in C₃ ones. Subsequent modelling and experimental validation provide further evidence that GC/SC sizes significantly impact stomatal kinetics, which affects stomatal responses to different drought conditions and thereby WUE in C₄ Poaceae crops. These findings emphasize the crucial advantage of GC/SC morphological characteristics and stomatal kinetics for the drought adaptability of C₄ Poaceae crops, highlighting their potential as future climate-resilient crops.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityMengmeng Rui, Rongjia Chen, Yi Jing, Feibo Wu, Zhong-Hua Chen, David Tissue, Hangjin Jiang, and Yizhou Wang
dc.identifier.citationNew Phytologist, 2024; 242(6):2479-2494
dc.identifier.doi10.1111/nph.19757
dc.identifier.issn0028-646X
dc.identifier.issn1469-8137
dc.identifier.orcidChen, Z.H. [0000-0002-7531-320X]
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2440/147419
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWiley
dc.relation.granthttp://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/FT210100366
dc.rights© 2024 The Authors, © 2024 New Phytologist Foundation.
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1111/nph.19757
dc.subjectC3 and C4 crops; drought; stomatal development; stomatal kinetics; stomatal morphology; water use efficiency.
dc.subject.meshCrops, Agricultural
dc.subject.meshWater
dc.subject.meshAdaptation, Physiological
dc.subject.meshCell Size
dc.subject.meshKinetics
dc.subject.meshModels, Biological
dc.subject.meshPlant Stomata
dc.subject.meshDroughts
dc.subject.meshEdible Grain
dc.titleGuard cell and subsidiary cell sizes are key determinants for stomatal kinetics and drought adaptation in cereal crops
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

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