Prof Mike Blatt and colleagues have published their findings of how ion channels function in stomatal guard cells. Simple mutations or edits can make stomata far more responsive, so enhancing performance under the fluctuating environmental conditions that crops typically face each day in the field. Commenting on the Nature Plants paper, Prof Anna Moroni of Italy’s University of Milan said: "The finding that clustering represents an additional control layer on ion channel activity is of utmost importance and of general interest, extending beyond plant physiology."
Reference:
Horaruang W et al (2022). Engineering a K+ channel ‘sensory antenna’ enhances stomatal kinetics, water use efficiency and photosynthesis. Nat. Plants. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01255-2
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