The cellular basis of guard cell sensing of rising CO2

Abstract

Numerous studies conducted on both whole plants and isolated epidermes have documented stomatal sensitivity to CO2. In general, CO2 concentrations below ambient stimulate stomatal opening, or an inhibition of stomatal closure, while CO2 concentrations above ambient have the opposite effect. The rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations which has occurred since the industrial revolution, and which is predicted to continue, will therefore alter rates of transpirational water loss and CO2 uptake in terrestrial plants. An understanding of the cellular basis for guard cell CO2 sensing could allow us to better predict, and perhaps ultimately to manipulate, such vegetation responses to climate change. However, the mechanisms by which guard cells sense and respond to the CO2 signal remain unknown. It has been hypothesized that cytosolic pH and malate levels, cytsolic Ca2+ levels, chloroplastic zeaxanthin levels, or plasma-membrane anion channel regulation by apoplastic malate are involved in guard cell perception and response to CO2. In this review, these hypotheses are discussed, and the evidence for guard cell acclimation to prevailing CO2 concentrations is also considered.