The leaves are dotted with tiny, microscopic stomata (also called stomata), which allow plants to “breathe.” California researchers have now filmed these stomata. The macro images show the movements of these pores, which are important for CO₂ circulation.
They are small openings reminiscent of mouths that biologists at the University of California San Diego were able to film. The images would show how plants can use their pores to signal changes in carbon dioxide levels, they say. The results of their study could help grow plants for a changing climate, the scientists say.
“When the stomata are open, the inside of the plant is exposed to the elements and water is lost from the plant to the surrounding air, which can cause it to dry out,” explains Jared Dashoff of the National Science Foundation. “Plants must therefore balance carbon dioxide uptake with water vapor loss by regulating how long the stomata remain open.”
The climate influences the duration of the stomata
Responding to change is critical to plant growth and controls how efficiently the plant can use water, which is important in the face of increasing drought and rising temperatures. As the climate changes, both atmospheric CO₂ concentration and temperature increase, altering the balance between CO₂ input and water vapor loss through the stomata.
When crops, especially crops such as wheat, rice and maize, cannot find a new balance, they risk drying out, farmers risk losing valuable crops and more and more people around the world are at risk of starvation, says study leader Julian Schroeder.
“Scientists have long known about stomata and the balance between CO₂ uptake and water loss,” Dashoff reports. “But what we didn’t know until now is how plants sense carbon dioxide to signal the stomata to open and close in response to changing levels of carbon dioxide.”
Source: Krone
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