Surrounded by luxury: The necessities of subsidiary cells

The evolution of stomata marks one of the key advances that enabled plants to colonise dry land while allowing gas exchange for photosynthesis. In large measure, stomata retain a common design across species that incorporates paired guard cells with little variation in structure. By contrast, the ce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant, cell and environment cell and environment, 2024-09, Vol.47 (9), p.3316-3329
Main Authors: Nguyen, Thanh‐Hao, Blatt, Michael R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cell size
CO2
development
Gas exchange
Guard cells
humidity
Photosynthesis
physiological functions
Plant cells
Stomata
stomatal kinetics
surrounding (subsidiary) cell
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Summary:The evolution of stomata marks one of the key advances that enabled plants to colonise dry land while allowing gas exchange for photosynthesis. In large measure, stomata retain a common design across species that incorporates paired guard cells with little variation in structure. By contrast, the cells of the stomatal complex immediately surrounding the guard cells vary widely in shape, size and count. Their origins in development are similarly diverse. Thus, the surrounding cells are likely a luxury that the necessity of stomatal control cannot do without (with apologies to Oscar Wilde). Surrounding cells are thought to support stomatal movements as solute reservoirs and to shape stomatal kinetics through backpressure on the guard cells. Their variety may also reflect a substantial diversity in function. Certainly modelling, kinetic analysis and the few electrophysiological studies to date give hints of much more complex contributions in stomatal physiology. Even so, our knowledge of the cells surrounding the guard cells in the stomatal complex is far from complete. Summary statement Stomata largely retain a common design across all species of land plants. By contrast, the cells immediately surrounding the guard cells vary widely in nature and origin. Such variety likely reflects a functional diversity in supporting stomatal movements and shaping stomatal kinetics. Yet, our knowledge of the cells surrounding the guard cells in the stomatal complex remains fragmentary at best.
ISSN:0140-7791
1365-3040
1365-3040
DOI:10.1111/pce.14872