Mild reductions in guard cell sucrose synthase 2 expression leads to
slower stomatal opening and decreased whole plant transpiration in
tobacco
Abstract
The understanding of the dynamics of stomatal movements has increased
substantially through genetic manipulation of plant metabolism either at
the whole plant level or specifically in guard cells. However, the
regulation of stomatal speediness remains not completely elucidated.
Here we shown that reduced expression of guard cell sucrose synthase 2
(NtSUS2) of Nicotiana tabacum L. altered the topology and the
connectivity of the guard cell metabolic network and the accumulation of
metabolites positively correlated with stomatal speediness during
dark-to-light transition. This leads to a slower light-induced stomatal
opening, lower steady-state stomatal conductance and a strong reduction
(up to 44%) in daily whole plant transpiration in the transgenics, when
compared to wild type plants. Furthermore, the transgenic lines
transpired more or have lower reduction in whole plant transpiration
under short water deficit periods, indicating a higher effective use of
water under this condition. Our results collectively suggest that the
regulation of stomatal movement and speediness involve a complex
modulation of the guard cell metabolic network, in which NtSUS2 has an
important role. The results are discussed on the role of guard cell
metabolism for the regulation of both stomatal speediness and whole
plant transpiration.