Secret message at the plant surface

HERNÁN BOCCALANDRO; JORGE CASAL; LAURA SERNA

Plant Signaling & Behavior

Año: 2007 vol. 2 p. 373 - 375

1559-2316

In general, stomata open during the day and close at night. This behaviour has a crucial importance because it maximizes the update of CO2 for photosynthesis and minimizes the water loss. Blue light is one of the environmental factors that regulates this process. Certainly, when either entire plants or epidermal strips adapted to the dark are exposed to blue light, the stomata open widely their pores. But, what does happen if we illuminate individual stomata instead of peels or entire plants? In the inaugural issue of PLoS ONE, we have answered this question by irradiating individual stomata with a laser attached to a confocal microscope. Our study not only demonstrates that the stomata function independently from the behaviour of their neighbours, and illuminates the implication of the blue light receptors PHOTOTROPIN1 and PHOTOTROPIN2 in such response. It also gives clues about the physiological relevancy of this behaviour.