Effects of stomatal development on stomatal conductance and on stomatal limitation of photosynthesis in Syringa oblata and Euonymus japonicus Thunb

Bing Jie Wu, Wah Soon Chow, Yu Jun Liu, Lei Shi, Chuang Dao Jiang*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    40 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    During leaf development, the increase in stomatal conductance cannot meet photosynthetic demand for CO2, thus leading to stomatal limitation of photosynthesis (Ls). Considering the crucial influences of stomatal development on stomatal conductance, we speculated whether stomatal development limits photosynthesis to some extent. To test this hypothesis, stomatal development, stomatal conductance and photosynthesis were carefully studied in both Syringa oblata (normal greening species) and Euonymus japonicus Thunb (delayed greening species). Our results show that the size of stomata increased gradually with leaf expansion, resulting in increased stomatal conductance up to the time of full leaf expansion. During this process, photosynthesis also increased steadily. Compared to that in S. oblata, the development of chloroplasts in E. japonicus Thunb was obviously delayed, leading to a delay in the improvement of photosynthetic capacity. Further analysis revealed that before full leaf expansion, stomatal limitation increased rapidly in both S. oblata and E. japonicus Thunb; after full leaf expansion, stomatal limitation continually increased in E. japonicus Thunb. Accordingly, we suggested that the enhancement of photosynthetic capacity is the main factor leading to stomatal limitation during leaf development but that stomatal development can alleviate stomatal limitation with the increase of photosynthesis by controlling gas exchange.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)23-31
    Number of pages9
    JournalPlant Science
    Volume229
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2014

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Effects of stomatal development on stomatal conductance and on stomatal limitation of photosynthesis in Syringa oblata and Euonymus japonicus Thunb'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this