Journal Article

Behind the scenes: the roles of reactive oxygen species in guard cells

Yuwei Song, Chun-Peng Song, Yuchen Miao

2014

Overview

Guard cells regulate stomatal pore size through integration of both endogenous and environmental signals; they are widely recognized as providing a key switching mechanism that maximizes both the efficient use of water and rates of CO2 exchange for photosynthesis; this is essential for the adaptation of plants to water stress. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are widely considered to be an important player in guard cell signalling. In this review, we focus on recent progress concerning the role of ROS as signal molecules in controlling stomatal movement, the interaction between ROS and intrinsic and environmental response pathways, the specificity of ROS signalling, and how ROS signals are sensed and relayed. However, the picture of ROS-mediated signalling is still fragmented and the issues of ROS sensing and the specificity of ROS signalling remain unclear. Here, we review some recent advances in our understanding of ROS signalling in guard cells, with an emphasis on the main players known to interact with abscisic acid signalling.

• Publisher: New Phytologist Trust,Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subject: Abscisic acid / abscisic acid (ABA) / Carbon dioxide / Cell size / Gene expression regulation / Genes / Guard cells / Hydrogen / hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) / Oxidative stress / Oxygen / Peroxides / Photosynthesis / Plant cells / Plant Cells - metabolism / Plant physiology / Plant Stomata - cytology / Plant Stomata - physiology / Plants / Pore size / Porosity / Reactive oxygen species / reactive oxygen species (ROS) / Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism / Signal Transduction / Signaling / Specificity / Stomata / stomatal movement / Tansley reviews / Water stress / Water use / water use efficiency