Plant Biology Codexery

Stoma

Pores that regulate gas exchange and water loss in plants.

Last updated

The paired guard cells and the pore they create, called the stomatal aperture, together form the stomatal complex, which is what the term "stoma" collectively refers to.[1] Gaseous diffusion through stomata allows the passage of air containing oxygen, used in respiration, and carbon dioxide, used in photosynthesis.[1] With the exception of liverworts and some mosses and hornworts, the sporophyte generation of most land plants possesses stomata.[2]

Quick Facts

Field
Botany
Known for
Regulating gas exchange and water loss in plants
Size range
10 to 80 μm in length, a few to 50 μm in width
Types
  • Amphistomatous
  • hypostomatous
  • epistomatous/hyperstomatous

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Stomatal size ranges from 10 to 80 μm in length and from a few to 50 μm in width.[3] Stomata had appeared in land plants by the middle of the Silurian period.[4] Stomatal development begins with an asymmetrical cell division in protodermal cells, producing a meristemoid that differentiates into guard cells.[5] Wide variation exists among vascular plants regarding their stomatal number, size, and distribution.[2]

Onion, oat, and maize are examples of monocotyledons where both leaf surfaces may have roughly equal numbers of stomata.[2] The lower leaf surface is the only location for stomata in the majority of tree species.[3] A single symmetrical division of the guard mother cell produces two guard cells.[5] Signal transduction components including EPF, ERL, and YODA regulate stomatal patterning.[6]

Plants exposed to light develop more stomata, whereas those grown in darkness develop fewer.[7]

What the research sources say

The 2020 textbook "Plant Physiology" reports that blue light is roughly ten times more effective than red light at triggering a stomatal response.[8][9] Hydropassive closure, caused by turgor loss in guard cells, results from low humidity.[10][11]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Esau, "Anatomy of Seed Plants", Wiley and Sons, 1977, p. 88 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Weyers, "Methods in stomatal research", Longman Group UK Ltd., 1990 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Willmer, "Stomata", Springer, 1996, p. 16; Willmer, "Stomata", Springer, 1996, p. 16; Fricker, "Stomata", Springer Netherlands, 2012, p. 18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: D. Edwards, "Stomata in early land plants: an anatomical and ecophysiological approach", Journal of Experimental Botany, 1998, p. 255–278; Krassilov, "Evolutionary theory and processes : modern horizons: papers in honour of Eviatar Nevo", Kluwer Acad. Publ., 2004, p. 265–289 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bergmann, "Stomatal Development and Pattern Controlled by a MAPKK Kinase", Science, 4 July 2004, p. 1494–1497; Pillitteri, "Stomatal Development in Arabidopsis", The Arabidopsis Book, 2013-06-06 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pillitteri, "Stomatal Development in Arabidopsis", The Arabidopsis Book, 2013-06-06; Pillitteri, "Stomatal Development in Arabidopsis", The Arabidopsis Book, 2013-06-06; Bergmann, "Stomatal Development and Pattern Controlled by a MAPKK Kinase", Science, 4 July 2004, p. 1494–1497; Pillitteri, "Stomatal Development in Arabidopsis", The Arabidopsis Book, 2013-06-06; Pillitteri, "Stomatal Development in Arabidopsis", The Arabidopsis Book, 2013-06-06; Casson, "Environmental regulation of stomatal development", Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 2010-02 en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Balcerowicz, "Auxin represses stomatal development in dark-grown seedling via Aux/IAA proteins", Development, 2014, p. 3165–3176 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McDonald, "Photobiology of Higher Plants", Wiley, 2003, p. 293; "Principles of Plant Nutrition", Springer, 2001, p. 205; Kochhar, "Plant Physiology: Theory and Applications", Cambridge University Press, 2020, p. 75–99; Kochhar, "Plant Physiology: Theory and Applications", Cambridge University Press, 2020, p. 75–99 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Open Library record, ISBN 9781108486392 ("Plant Physiology"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Stoma" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Principles of Plant Nutrition", Springer, 2001, p. 223 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Open Library record, ISBN 9789401010092 ("Principles of Plant Nutrition"). CC0 (metadata); book content not read. openlibrary.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Stoma (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

More in Plant Biology

TranspirationTrunk (botany)Vascular cambiumVascular tissueNut (fruit)PhotosynthesisPlant anatomyPlant cellPlant hormonePlant morphologyPlant reproductive morphologyPlant stem

Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

Spotted an error? Know more?

Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced

Comments

Loading…
Open in the interactive codex →