The role of stomata in sensing and driving environmental change

• Published in: Nature Vol. 424; no. 6951; pp. 901 - 908
• Main Authors: Hetherington, Alistair M, Woodward, F. Ian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing 21.08.2003; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Acclimatization; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Evolution; Changes; Climate change; Control systems; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on plants and fungi; Environment; Environmental changes; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gases; Global climate; Leaves; Photosynthesis; Plant Leaves - cytology; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plant physiology; Plant Transpiration; Signal Transduction; Stomata; Signal transduction; Transpiration; Vegetals; Stomata; Review; Gas exchange; Photosynthesis; Climate modification; Structure function relationship; Guard cell; Adaptation
• ISSN: 0028-0836; 1476-4687
• DOI: 10.1038/nature01843

Stomata, the small pores on the surfaces of leaves and stalks, regulate the flow of gases in and out of leaves and thus plants as a whole. They adapt to local and global changes on all timescales from minutes to millennia. Recent data from diverse fields are establishing their central importance to plant physiology, evolution and global ecology. Stomatal morphology, distribution and behaviour respond to a spectrum of signals, from intracellular signalling to global climatic change. Such concerted adaptation results from a web of control systems, reminiscent of a 'scale-free' network, whose untangling requires integrated approaches beyond those currently used.