Relationship between brassinosteroids and genes controlling stomatal production in the Arabidopsis hypocotyl.

Stomata are excellent model systems for examining the mechanisms that regulate cell fate determination and pattern formation. It has recently been demonstrated that brassinosteroids control stomatal development by regulating both the MAPK kinase kinase YODA and the basic helix-loop-helix transcriptional factor SPEECHLESS. Here, we show that these plant regulators positively regulate stomatal formation in the hypocotyl and also accelerate their development.

Use of confocal laser as light source reveals stomata-autonomous function.

In most terrestrial plants, stomata open during the day to maximize the update of CO(2) for photosynthesis, but they close at night to minimize water loss. Blue light, among several environmental factors, controls this process. Stomata response to diverse stimuli seems to be dictated by the behaviour of neighbour stomata creating leaf areas of coordinated response.

Cryptochrome photoreceptors cry1 and cry2 antagonistically regulate primary root elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Cryptochromes are blue-light receptors controlling multiple aspects of plant growth and development. They are flavoproteins with significant homology to photolyases, but instead of repairing DNA they function by transducing blue light energy into a signal that can be recognized by the cellular signaling machinery. Here we report the effect of cry1 and cry2 blue light receptors on primary root growth in Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, through analysis of both cryptochrome-mutant and cryptochrome-overexpressing lines.